Coyote vs. Acme is no longer a “what if.” The first official trailer for the long-delayed Looney Tunes hybrid dropped on Wednesday, April 22, finally putting Will Forte’s scrappy attorney front and center as he takes Wile E. Coyote’s case to court—and locking in an August 28 theatrical release.
According to Deadline, the footage wastes no time setting the stakes. Forte plays a down-on-his-luck lawyer who agrees to represent the perpetually outmatched Coyote after one too many Acme gadgets explode in his face.
Across the aisle is John Cena as a polished corporate litigator with ties to both Acme and Forte’s past, setting up a courtroom clash that doubles as a personal showdown.
The trailer mixes live-action performances with classic Looney Tunes chaos—think malfunctioning contraptions, explosive sight gags, and a legal strategy built around decades of cartoon failure.
Directed by Dave Green, Coyote vs. Acme is a live-action/animation hybrid that pairs human characters with animated icons like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Tweety.
Forte leads a cast that includes Lana Condor, P.J. Byrne, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, and Luis Guzmán, with a script from Samy Burch based on a story developed alongside James Gunn and Jeremy Slater.
Gunn also produces with Chris deFaria, bringing major studio pedigree to a project rooted in Looney Tunes history.
The premise sticks close to its source material. As the official synopsis puts it, Wile E. Coyote—after repeated product failures—“decides to hire a billboard lawyer… to sue the Acme Corporation,” with the case pitting him and his attorney against “the latter’s intimidating former boss.”
What starts as a legal fight evolves into an unlikely partnership between a man and a cartoon, with both seeking a win.
That win nearly never happened. The film was completed in 2023 but shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery as part of a broader cost-cutting push, with the studio opting to claim a reported $30 million tax write-off instead of releasing it. The decision triggered backlash across Hollywood, prompting the studio to reverse course and allow the filmmakers to shop the project.
In March 2025, Ketchup Entertainment acquired the film in a deal reportedly valued at around $50 million.
