‘Coyote Vs. Acme’: The Shelved Film From WB Will Reportedly Be Shopped Around To Other Studios

Last week, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made news, yet again, regarding a controversial move to shelve an already-produced film. Following on the heels of previous features who earned the distinction of being canceled after production was complete, “Batgirl” and “Scoob! 2,” it appears “Coyote vs. Acme” is doomed to join their ranks. Well, at least for now. It seems as if WBD is willing to give the filmmakers behind ‘Coyote’ a chance to live… at another studio.

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According to a report from Puck, Warner Bros. Discovery is willing to give the filmmakers behind the live-action/animation hybrid film, “Coyote vs. Acme,” a chance to shop the $70 million film around to other studios in hopes of finding a buyer. Of course, if they don’t find a buyer, the film will stay at WBD and will likely just go in the vault as a way for the studio to save money. (Though, it should be noted the same report claims that the money saved by WBD would be in the single-digits millions, so the studio wouldn’t recover the full $70 million price tag in tax shenanigans.) 

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When the news hit that WBD was shelving ‘Coyote,’ there was outcry on social media, particularly from filmmaker Dave Green, who shared behind-the-scenes news that his film scored really well in test screenings and had all the makings of a hit film. “Coyote vs. Acme” is a film that stars John Cena, Will Forte, and various other actors in a “Space Jam”-esque hybrid film that takes the various Looney Tunes characters and puts them in a new adventure. The Puck report claims that the decision to effectively cancel ‘Coyote’ wasn’t just because the feature is part of an old Warner Bros. regime who was making films for streaming audiences (a mandate that no longer exists under Zaslav), but it’s also because WBD has other plans for the Looney Tunes characters and doesn’t want this film to sully those endeavors. All that to say, this really does seem like a doomed movie.

The real question now is whether or not there’s a studio willing to fork over quite a bit of money to convince WBD to let go of the film. With a $70 million production cost, it would take a heavy hitter like a Netflix or Amazon to want to spend that type of cash to buy WBD’s project. It is clear WBD is willing to take the hit, both financially and with the general public, so there’s really nothing to lose on the studio’s part.

At least, for now, it appears “Coyote vs. Acme” has a shot at survival, however slim.