If you thought Warner Bros. was done scrapping projects, you were wrong. A little over a year after WB scrapped several film and series projects like Batgirl, they have scrapped the live-action, CG animation hybrid Looney Tunes movie Coyote Vs. Acme.
The movie completed production last year with director Dave Green. It starred John Cena and DC Studios co-head James Gunn produced the feature and worked on the story. Cena was set to star as the president of the ACME Corporation and other cast members included Will Forte (SNL, MacGruber) and Lana Condor (To All the Boys, Alita: Battle Angel).
WB Motion Picture Group spokesperson said in a statement: “With the re-launch of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation in June, the studio has shifted its global strategy to focus on theatrical releases. With this new direction, we have made the difficult decision not to move forward with Coyote vs Acme. We have tremendous respect for the filmmakers, casts, and crew, and are grateful for their contributions to the film.”
This news is a bit of a bummer because this could’ve been a fun movie to watch! Forte previously talked about how fun it was to make the movie and offered some details on the story saying:
“I mean, it was so fun to make this. It came out of this article that I think is decades old. Wiley Coyote is suing the Acme Corporation because of all the different contraptions that have exploded in his face, and stuff like that. And so, I get to play Wile E. Coyote’s lawyer, and it’s a mixture of animation, and it’s like a Who Framed Roger Rabbit? style movie. And yeah, John Cena is so great in it. Lana Condor is in it. It was so much fun making it, and these guys who are making it are so smart. Because you’ve got to figure out where this animated character is going to move to. It was amazing to be a part of it. So, I’m excited to see how it turns out because, of course, I’m acting with a tennis ball a lot of times. There’s a tennis ball for an eye-line, and it’s moving around. So, yeah, I think, I don’t know how much more I can say about it, but I’ve blathered on for a while.
Warner Bros. Animation is looking to release around two films a year, and some of the upcoming projects include Bad Fairies and The Lunar Chronicles, and it also has several Dr. Seuss adaptations in the works, including Cat in the Hat and an animated musical adaptation of Oh, the Places You’ll Go!. Sources say that WB “is looking to shift the focus of Warner Bros. Animation to strictly theatrical-worthy fare, with aims of producing original movies as well as films based on the studio’s IP.”
Source: THR