''Coyote vs. Acme'' is an upcoming American

legal drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

film directed by Dave Green, from a screenplay written by

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with '' Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a direct ...

Jeremy Slater Jeremy Slater is an American writer and producer of film and television, known for his work on films such as ''Fantastic Four'' and ''Death Note'', and on television series such as ''The Umbrella Academy'' and ''The Exorcist'', which Slater crea ...

, Jon Silberman, Josh Silberman, and Samy Burch. Combining live-action and animation, the film is based on the character

Wile E. Coyote Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short ''Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode, ...

and the

ACME Corporation The ACME Corporation is a name for the fictional corporation appearing in various Warner Bros. cartoon shorts, where it was used as a running gag due to their wide array of products that are dangerous, unreliable or preposterous. Origin The n ...

from the ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

'' and ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...

'' series of cartoons, and the magazine article of the same name originally published in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'' by

Ian Frazier Ian Frazier (born 1951 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American writer and humorist. He wrote the 1989 non-fiction history ''Great Plains'', 2010's non-fiction travelogue ''Travels in Siberia'', and works as a writer and humorist for ''The New Yorker ...

. Produced by

Warner Animation Group The Warner Animation Group (WAG) is an American animation studio serving as the computer-animated feature film label of Warner Bros.' theatrical film production and distribution division, Warner Bros. Pictures. Established on January 7, 2013, t ...

, the film stars

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...

Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Forte is known for being a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (2002–2010), a recurring character on the show leading to a feature film ada ...

and

Lana Condor Lana Therese Condor (born Trần Đồng Lan; May 11, 1997) is an American actress, producer, and singer. She made her acting debut starring as Jubilee in the superhero film '' X-Men: Apocalypse'' (2016), and gained international recognition for ...

. ''Coyote vs. Acme'' is scheduled to be released in the United States in 2023, by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of l ...

Premise

After every

product backfired on

, in his pursuit of

the Road Runner Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short ''Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode, t ...

, he hires an equally-unlucky human attorney to sue the company. When Wile E.'s lawyer finds out that his former law firm's intimidating boss is ACME's CEO, he teams up with Wile E. to win the court case against him.

Cast

as Wile E.'s attorney *

as the lawyer of the Acme Corporation that Wile E. is filing a case against *

Production

Development

In August 2018,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

announced the development of a

project, titled ''Coyote vs. Acme'', with ''

The Lego Batman Movie ''The Lego Batman Movie'' is a 2017 computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Dan Lin's Lin Pictures, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's Lord Mille ...

'' director

Chris McKay Christopher McKay, also known as Chris Taylor (born November 11, 1973), is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing and editing three seasons of ''Robot Chicken'' and two seasons of '' Moral Orel''. He made his feature directorial ...

as producer and Jon and Josh Silberman writing the screenplay. In mid-December 2019, Dave Green signed on to direct the live-action animated hybrid film, while Jon and Josh Silberman were replaced as screenwriters, though they remained as producers. In December 2020, McKay left the project, while Jon and Josh Silberman left their producing roles and returned to screenwriting duties alongside Samy Burch,

, and

. Along with the departure of McKay, it was reported that the film would draw inspiration from the fictional ''

New Yorker New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to: * A resident of the State of New York ** Demographics of New York (state) * A resident of New York City ** List of people from New York City * ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925 * '' The ...

'' article of the same name by

Casting

In February 2022,

was cast as the film's main antagonist, described as the lawyer in defense of ACME and the former boss to Wile E.'s lawyer; he previously collaborated with Gunn on the

DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters tha ...

projects '' The Suicide Squad'' (2021) and ''

Peacemaker Peacemaker or The Peacemaker (in various forms) may refer to: Individuals and groups * UN Peacemaker, a project of the UN to support international peacemakers and mediators * Peace makers, a list of contemporary individuals and organizations inv ...

'' (2022). The following month,

and

would be added to the cast, with Forte starring as Coyote's lawyer. In November 2022, Foghorn Leghorn, Granny,

Sylvester the Cat Sylvester Pussycat, Sr. is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic tuxedo cat in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. Most of his appearances have him often chasing Tweety, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper. He ...

and

Tweety Tweety is a yellow canary in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being an English onomatopoeia fo ...

were confirmed to be in the film. In December 2022,

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Mer ...

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melo ...

Elmer Fudd Elmer J.'' Hare Brush'' (1956) Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes''/''Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon panth ...

and

Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( /joʊˈsɛmɪti/ ''yoh-SEM-ih-tee'') is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park. He is an adversary of Bu ...

were also confirmed to be in the film. In January 2023,

Porky Pig Porky Pig is an animated character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many crit ...

was confirmed to be in the film. Later that month, Will Forte teased that many ''Looney Tunes'' characters besides Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner will appear in the film.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

commenced on April 1, 2022, with cinematographer

Brandon Trost Brandon Scott Trost (born August 29, 1981) is an American cinematographer, screenwriter, and film director whose credits include writing and directing '' The FP'' (2011) with his brother Jason, as well as being the cinematographer of several fil ...

. Filming took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as it is an iconic setting referenced in numerous ''Looney Tunes'' cartoons. Filming wrapped on May 28, 2022.

Visual effects and animation

Visual effects and animation services were provided by

DNEG DNEG (formerly known as Double Negative) is a British visual effects, computer animation, and stereo conversion studio that was founded in 1998 in London, and rebranded as DNEG in 2014 after a merger with Indian VFX company Prime Focus. The c ...

Release

''Coyote vs. Acme'' was originally scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on July 21, 2023, by

. On April 26, 2022, it was taken off the release schedule, with ''

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiratio ...

'' taking over its original release date. However, the film was quoted to still release on an undisclosed date in 2023.

References

External links

* {{Warner Bros. theatrical animated features Upcoming films 2020s computer-animated films 2020s English-language films 2023 comedy films 2023 films 3D animated films American 3D films American adventure comedy films American children's animated comedy films American computer-animated films American fantasy films Animated films about friendship Animated films about revenge Animated films based on American novels American films with live action and animation Bugs Bunny films Daffy Duck films Elmer Fudd films Film spin-offs Films about animation Films about lawyers Films directed by Dave Green Films produced by James Gunn Films set in deserts Films shot in New Mexico Films with screenplays by James Gunn Films with screenplays by Jeremy Slater Foghorn Leghorn films Looney Tunes films Porky Pig films Sylvester the Cat films Tweety films Upcoming IMAX films Warner Animation Group films Warner Bros. animated films Warner Bros. Animation animated films Warner Bros. films Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner films Yosemite Sam films