Hollywood’s improbable underdog “Coyote vs. Acme” has finally landed a global theatrical release date. Star Will Forte announced at the film’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con that the live-action/animation hybrid will premiere on Aug. 28, 2026.
“Coyote vs. Acme” — about Looney Tunes stalwart Wyle E. Coyote suing the Acme Corporation for all its faulty tools in his pursuit of the Road Runner — was infamously shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2023 after it was completed, so the company could write-off its $30 million budget. The movie was greenlit by the previous regime for the streaming service HBO Max, but the team led by WBD’s CEO David Zaslav decided to abandon that strategy and focus on theatrical releases instead. That decision led to the notorious cancellation of HBO Max films “Batgirl” and “Scoob! Holiday Haunt” in 2022.
Unlike those movies, however, “Coyote vs. Acme” was rescued by Ketchup Entertainment, which acquired the film in March 2025, for reportedly around $50 million.
“This is the panel that you were not supposed to see!” said moderator Paul Scheer at the top of the panle. “This movie was not supposed to come out!”
Scheer then rolled a brief clip from the film, in which Wyle recalls all of the Acme products that failed him in his pursuit of the Road Runner — intercut with clips from the classic Road Runner animated shorts — while Johnny Cash’s rendition of “Hurt” played underneath.
After Forte came to the stage, the panel was interrupted briefly by a representative from the Acme Corporation (performed by actor P. J. Byrne, who also plays an Acme lawyer in the movie) who “served” the entirety of Hall H cease and desist papers. “You do not have permission to share information or footage from this anti-Acme film!” he screamed to a round chorus of boos. “Please, leave the stage!”
Instead of leaving the stage, Forte and Scheer welcomed director Dave Green, voice actor Eric Bauza — who plays all of the Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig — and costar Martha Kelly to the stage. They played an extended clip from the film of Wyle’s first day in court, which does not go well: His lawyer, Kevin Avery (Forte), hasn’t stood inside a courtroom in years, and he’s up against Acme’s formidable attorney Buddy Crane (John Cena). The scene includes several playful nods to Looney Tunes characters, including a knitting mother hen on the jury and Playboy Penguin working as a courtroom sketch artist carving a bust of Buddy’s chiseled face out of ice. The judge, played by Luis Guzmán, even has a cartoon gavel that squeaks.
More to come.
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