‘Coyote vs. Acme’: First Image Finds Wile E. Coyote in Court!! Check It Out!!

After a hectic production that saw its abandonment and subsequent resurrection, the upcoming film Coyote vs. Acme unveiled its first image on New Year’s Eve. The image comes courtesy of voice actor Eric Bauza, who plays the titular Wile E. Coyote in the movie, directed by Dave Green. It shows a 2D animated Wile E. Coyote in court, accompanied by his lawyer, played by Will Forte. In the seat directly behind them sits a character played by Lana Condor. John Cena is reportedly playing the villain.

The live-action/animated hybrid movie follows the titular character in his legal tussle against the Acme Corporation, after one of their products backfires on him in his lifelong pursuit of Roadrunner. Forte plays his lawyer, while Cena plays the boss of the conglomerate. That meta premise might remind fans of this year’s blockbuster hit Barbie, in which the Mattel Corporation projected itself as the primary hurdle in the life of its biggest creation.

Coyote vs. Acme has had an interesting production. The movie was initially set up with Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie, The Tomorrow War) as producer, before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows director Green was hired to helm. After wrapping production in 2022, Warner Bros. announced this year that it was going to abandon the film’s release and claim a tax write-off. An industry-wide protest followed, with many prominent voices objecting to the studio’s anti-art practices — this wasn’t the first time that W.B. had canceled a completed film’s release — and eventually, the studio allowed the filmmakers to shop the project around town.

This Isn’t the First Time Warner Bros. Tried This Tactic

It was reported by Deadline that the movie had been screened for interested parties such as Amazon and Sony, with Netflix and Paramount making bids. The unveiling of the new still, which comes with the tease of a 2024 release, suggests that encouraging progress has been made on that front. Warner Bros. had previously taken write-offs for films such as Batgirl, directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, and Scoob!: Holiday Haunt, which was set for an HBO Max release. Coyote vs. Acme is co-produced by James Gunn, the current co-CEO of DC Studios, and written by Samy Burch, who rose to fame this year after writing the screenplay for director Todd Haynes’ acclaimed melodrama May December. You can get a look at the new still here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.