Will Forte told Entertainment Weekly in a new interview that he’s hopeful the mess Warner Bros. created when it canceled the release of “Coyote vs. Acme” will “get more eyes” on the film when it finally opens in theaters this August.
“Extreme frustration, fiery frustration, a lot of anger, white hot anger,” Forte told the publication when asked what his immediate response was to the movie being shelved. “But then ultimately, that’s mixed with pride in this movie we’ve done. And also, who knows? Everything happens for a reason, and it is certainly possible that the crazy journey that this movie is taking will help get more eyes on it, because it’s a story people know about a little bit. But I don’t think we needed this crazy journey.”
Warner Bros. notoriously shelved “Coyote vs. Acme” in November 2023 in order to take a $30 million tax write-off. The decision was widely panned by the film industry. Prior to shelving “Coyote vs. Acme,” Warner Bros. sparked fury for making the same decisions with “Batgirl” and “Scoob! Holiday Haunt.”
“Coyote vs. Acme” was originally slated for release on July 21, 2023 before Warner Bros. shelved it. The studio announced at the time that it had no plans to ever release the movie, a $70 million live action-animation hybrid also starring John Cena and Lana Condor. Forte starred in the movie as Wile E. Coyote’s lawyer. The screenplay was written by “May December” scribe Samy Burch.
“I remember when I first heard that Warner Bros. was shelving it, I had not yet seen the movie,” Forte told EW. “I had been talking to people before and hearing about the test scores being really good, and then I was like, ‘Oh, maybe it’s not as good as they were telling me’ when it got shelved… [then] I got to see it. I love it. I was so proud of it. It was so maddening because it was this beautiful, special little movie that was something I would’ve been able to share with my kids.”
Four months after Warner Bros. shelved “Coyote vs. Acme,” Forte took to Instagram and posted a note to the film’s cast and crew in which he wrote: “Look, when it comes to Hollywood business stuff, I don’t know shit about shit. Even when a movie tests very well (like ours), there’s no guarantee that it’s gonna be a hit,” he added. “And at the end of the day, the people who paid for this movie can obviously do whatever they want with it. It doesn’t mean I have to like it (I fucking hate it). Or agree with it. And it doesn’t mean that this movie is anything less than magnificent.”
During an interview with MovieWeb last year urged his followers not to forget what Warner Bros. did to the movie, saying: “My thoughts were that it’s fucking bullshit. It is such a delightful movie. It deserves so much better than it got. I can’t tell you possibly why the decision was made to not release it. But it makes my blood boil.”
“Thank you for asking me about it because I like talking about the movie because I don’t want people to forget what [Warner Bros.] did to this,” he added at the time. “I appreciate them letting us make it, but don’t let us make this thing that we fall in love with and then not show it. I would understand if the thing sucked, but it’s really good. Maybe somehow we get to see it at some point. I hope people do. I was really proud of it.”
News broke in March 2025 that “Coyote vs. Acme” had been saved Ketchup Entertainment. The studio reportedly picked up the movie for a deal worth $50 million. “Coyote vs. Acme” now opens in theaters Aug. 28.
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