SAN DIEGO − Wile E. Coyote will finally see his day in court (and a movie theater).
After getting made, then shelved by Warner Bros. and navigating years of uncertainty, the live-action/animated hybrid Looney Tunes comedy “Coyote vs. Acme” is getting a theatrical release date: Aug. 28, 2026. On Saturday, July 26, a rowdy crowd at the pop-culture festival Comic-Con cheered the film’s first trailer and footage shown publicly.
Star Will Forte acknowledges being “devastated” when he heard “Coyote” wasn’t coming out but is “pretty speechless now.”
“It blows my mind,” he told conventioneers. “You think back to the journey this movie has taken. I had kind of given up hope, so this is amazing.”
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The movie centers on Wile E. Coyote, the cartoon underdog who’s been trying unsuccessfully to catch the speedy Road Runner for 75 years by using defective products from the Acme corporation. Wile E. hires down-on-his-luck, ambulance-chasing New Mexico attorney Kevin Avery (Forte) to sue Acme, which happens to be the biggest and most powerful company in the world.
Sometimes, “the universe brings someone into your life who needs to teach you a lesson,” said Forte, and for Kevin, that’s Wile E., “who never gives up.”
“Coyote” is a different kind of Looney Tunes project. “This movie was made without the help of AI or NBA basketball players,” Eric Bauza joked in his Bugs Bunny voice. The main voice actor for Daffy Duck and Porky Pig plays 10 characters in the movie, including the iconic carrot-chomping rabbit.
There are plenty of animated cameos, too, including a cartoon Peter Lorre that old-school Looney Tunes fans will recognize, plus familiar human faces as well. One of the scenes showed Avery in court vs. Acme’s defense attorney Buddy Crane, played by John Cena.
Partially inspired by a 1990 New Yorker humor piece, “Coyote vs. Acme” navigated a path of big ups and downs. The movie was completed two years ago when Warner Bros. Discovery dropped the proverbial anvil on cast and filmmaker’s heads and decided not to release it. After that, fans protested, people in Hollywood championed its release, and finally earlier this year, the film was acquired by Ketchup Entertainment. Those folks also saved another Looney Tunes movie, “The Day the Earth Blew Up.”
Moderated by comedian Paul Scheer, the Comic-Con panel was a celebration of “Coyote” and also a chance to poke fun at its former corporate home.
“I’ve never heard of Warner Bros. Do they make movies?” Scheer quipped. “This was purely an Acme decision and I say that for legal purposes.
“This never happens. Unless you’re Zack Snyder.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ star Will Forte celebrates film’s first footage
