Cancelled Coyote vs. Acme Might Make It to the Big Screen After All

Warner Bros.’ mothballed movie Coyote vs. Acme may indeed see the light of day after all, according to Deadline. Deadline reports that Los Angeles-based independent film production and distribution company Ketchup Entertainment is “deep in sale negotiations” for Coyote vs. Acme, a completed film which was previously thought to have been entirely scrapped.

The report stressed the deal is not completed at this stage but, if it is, a theatrical release for Coyote vs. Acme would follow in 2026.

Coyote vs. Acme, which was announced in 2022 and based on a 1990 Ian Frazier New Yorker article of the same name, is co-written by James Gunn and stars Will Forte and John Cena. It was intended to be released in mid-2023 on Max but unfortunately the film was subsequently shelved despite having already finished filming. A concerted campaign to save it has been ongoing ever since.

Ketchup Entertainment most recently rescued Warner Bros.’ The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie from a similar fate, snatching the film from beneath the swinging axe of certainty surrounding Warner Bros.’ animation slate and securing it a run in cinemas in the US. It’s officially the first fully animated Looney Tunes movie to get a theatrical release, and IGN’s review calls it a “laugh-out-loud riot.”

Previous projects released by Ketchup Entertainment include Hellboy: The Crooked Man and the Robert Rodriguez thriller Hypnotic, featuring Ben Affleck. The company also co-produced Michael Mann’s 2023 Ferrari biopic.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.