SAN DIEGO (AP) — Comic-Con is headed to space for its third day. But first, it got animated.
Fans got a sneak peek at “Coyote vs. ACME,” a hybrid live-action and animated project that was shelved by Warner Bros. in a cost-cutting move but will get a theatrical release in 2026.
The movie features John Cena, who is also a star of the DC series “Peacemaker,” which will have a presentation Saturday in Comic-Con’s massive Hall H.
Animation was the theme of Hall H Saturday morning, with the cast of “Bad Guys 2” teasing new footage from the movie and describing how they recorded their characters.
Marc Maron, who plays Snake, joked he asked to be tied up as he performed his lines on the floor. “The depth of the character should read a little more this time,” he said.
The film, based on the graphic novel series by Aaron Blabey, introduces a new crew of animal criminals, the Bad Girls played by Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne and Maria Bakalova.
Saturday’s biggest presentations at the pop culture extravaganza will be for “Project Hail Mary,” which stars Ryan Gosling on an interstellar mission to save humanity, and for the next series in the “Star Trek” franchise.
“Project Hail Mary” is an adaptation of the book by Martin Weir, whose book “The Martian” was adapted by Ridley Scott in 2015.
‘Coyote vs. Acme’ coming to theaters in August 2026
Wile E. Coyote is getting his day in court – and theaters.
The stars of “Coyote vs. Acme” delivered a rousing presentation of a movie that at one point wasn’t going to be released.
The underdog story – both of the movie and Coyote –- was a running theme of the panel. But rather than direct ire at Warner Bros., the real-world studio that shelved the project, the panel focused on the fictional Acme Corp.
“This is purely an Acme decision … and I am saying this for legal purposes,” moderator Paul Scheer said at the start of the panel.
The movie is a hybrid of animation and live action and is based on a 1990 New Yorker article that satirized a legal complaint filed by Coyote against Acme, the maker of the TNT, detonators, rocket shoes, catapults and other products that consistently backfire during the Coyote’s fruitless attempts to catch the Roadrunner.
Laughter filled Hall H, the massive 6,000-seat venue as fans watched a montage of Coyote being blown up, flattened and falling into chasms in a scene set to Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt.” Coyote is replaying the moments in his lair when an ad for a personal injury lawyer appears on TV.
They also played six minutes of the movie, including a scene of opening statements in the case in which Coyote’s lawyer, Will Forte, accidentally unleashes a rocket skate into the courtroom, setting Coyote and the judge’s robes on fire. John Cena plays a slick Acme lawyer who wins over the jury, which includes a cartoon character, quickly.
Forte said he didn’t think the movie would ever get to audiences.
“I’m pretty speechless. You think back to the journey that this movie has taken. I had kind of given up hope at a certain point,” Forte said. At one point, his comments were interrupted by a man playing an Acme lawyer who stormed into Hall H with cease-and-desist letters.
Director Dave Green said the movie conforms to famed animator Chuck Jones’ rules for the struggle between the Coyote and Roadrunner, which include the bird always staying on the road and the Coyote being ultimately more humiliated than hurt when he falls, is crushed or gets blown up by TNT.
The movie, which features cameos from numerous Looney Tunes characters like Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety and Bugs Bunny, will be released on Aug. 28, 2026. Ketchup Entertainment teamed up with Warner Bros. on the film and in the release of “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.”
What’s happened at Comic-Con 2025 so far
An estimated 135,000 people — many in costumes — are expected to attend Comic-Con 2025, which runs through Sunday in downtown San Diego.
So far, fans have gotten previews of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,”the upcoming FX series “Alien: Earth” and “Predator: Badlands,” which will be in theaters in November.
