‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Trailer: After Three Years, the ‘Looney Tunes’ Live-Action Courtroom Drama Is Finally Here

Initially shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery as a tax write-off, "Coyote vs. Acme" will finally come to theaters this summer.

Years before Warner Bros. was set to be purchased by Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery made many negative headlines in 2023 by shelving several completed projects before release in order to cash in on tax write-offs. Infamously, this happened with “Batgirl,” a superhero film starring Leslie Grace and JK Simmons. But the other big film that got this treatment was “Coyote vs. Acme,” a live-action “Looney Tunes” film in the vein of “Space Jam” or “Back in Action.”

Unlike “Batgirl,” “Coyote vs. Acme” was eventually taken off the shelf, so to speak, when WBD leadership reversed course and allowed the filmmakers to shop the film at other distributors. And after over a year of searching, the movie finally got picked up when Ketchup Entertainment acquired in it in 2025.

And now, three years after its initial cancellation, we finally have proof that “Coyote vs. Acme” is real and coming out. Ketchup has released the first trailer for the film this Wednesday, ahead of its release later in the Summer.

The inspiration for “Coyote vs. ACME” comes from a 1990 “New Yorker” satirical piece by writer Ian Frazier. The story, formatted like a real court report, focuses on a lawsuit from classic “Looney Tunes” character Wile E. Coyote against the Acme Corporation, the manufacturer of the various gadgets and traps the coyote uses in his shorts to try to catch the Roadrunner. In the 49 shorts starring Wile, the Acme products tended to backfire and malfunction in horrible and often humiliating ways.

The film similarly follows Wile E. Coyote (rendered, like all other “Looney Tunes” characters in the movie, in 2D animation) as he sues Acme for their poor product design and false advertising. Representing him is human lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte, in live-action), a billboard attorney who has his own bone to pick with Acme, as the conglomerate is represented by Buddy Crane (John Cena), the boss of Kevin’s former law firm. Lana Condor plays Kevin’s niece, Luis Guzmán plays the judge overseeing the trial, and P.J. Byrne, Tone Bell, and Martha Kelly round out the (human, non “Looney Tune”) cast of the film.

“Coyote vs. Acme” is directed by Dave Green, best known for 2016’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.” The film was written by Samy Burch, who is best known for her Oscar-nominated screenplay for “May December,” based on a story she developed with James Gunn and Jeremy Slater.

“Coyote vs. Acme” races to theaters August 28. Watch the trailer below.