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You know who I bet has been thrilled with all the news around CBS/Paramount canceling Stephen Colbert & The Late Show? Well yes, obviously that guy. But I’m actually talking about another despicable head honcho: David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, under whose brilliant tutelage the streaming app went from HBO Max to Max to HBO Max again. He must be so relieved the heat’s off him for once! But let us not forget the sins of Zaslav. Aside from the unforgivable crime of taking a “That’s All, Folks!” to the entire catalog of the original Looney Tunes, the man loves nothing more than to can already completed films for tax write-offs. (And still, those write-offs only cut down a fraction of WBD’s debt, prompting its recent split into two entities.) But Zaslav made one crucial mistake when he canned (not once but twice!) Coyote vs. Acme, and that was the abiding love filmmakers and audiences have for Looney Tunes. So in April, Ketchup Entertainment came to the rescue and bought the rights, and now the release date was just confirmed by star Will Forte at Comic-Con: August 28, 2026!
Coyote vs. Acme actor today at San Diego Comic-Con said the global release date for the Warner Bros. abandoned-Ketchup Entertainment saved hybrid animation movie is Aug. 28, 2026. And that’s a global release.
“This movie wasn’t supposed to come out,” said the panel’s moderator Paul Scheer about the pic which follows Wile E. Coyote’s legal crusade against Acme corporation after suffering way too many damages.
“I heard Warner Bros wouldn’t release the film — I’ve never heard of Warner Bros!” the comedic actor and multihyphenate joked, “This is really an Acme decision and I’m saying that for legal purposes.”
“Ketchup is single-handedly saving the Looney Tunes,” said Sheer, “Mr. Ketchup, we salute you.”
Warner Bros initially took the $70M movie off the theatrical schedule in a cost-saving move, reporting that it was taking a tax writeoff. However, Ketchup Entertainment, as Deadline first told, wound up taking the worldwide rights to the film in what was a $50M deal. Ketchup also released another Warner Bros’ abandoned Looney Tunes movie, The Day the Earth Blew Up which made $8.8M domestic, $15.1M worldwide. Forte emphasized to the room that it was the fans who saved the movie.
…Also on today’s panel was director Dave Green, and actress Martha Kelly.
The first clip shows Coyote, distressed, going through his failed plans to capture Road Runner, all of which involved ACME. Set to Johnny Cash’s tune “Hurt”, Coyote catches the legal TV commercial for Forte’s personal injury attorney character, who pitches those viewers who may have suffered ACME damages (“Have you ever pulled the ripcord to your parachute and only silverware fell out?”).
The second piece of footage shown has Forte’s lawyer guy in court with Coyote versus ACME’s team of [P.J. Byrne’s character Bill] Pellicano and John Cena’s bigshot attorney character Buddy Crane. Coyote, who doesn’t speak, urges Forte to show the court a faulty rocket roller skate. Forte turns it on and the skate blasts off around the court room, blowing fire in Coyote’s face and setting the judge, played by Luis Guzman [on fire].
“Have you ever pulled the ripcord to your parachute and only silverware fell out?” Not gonna lie, I totally guffawed when I read that line. It’s so wonderfully daffy! Even though this isn’t a Daffy flick… Also, not to nitpick or be too much of a Looney Canon nerd (but really, what else am I here for?) but Wile E. Coyote DOES speak. He has quite a rich, velvety baritone that would give Benedict Cumberbatch a run for his money. It’s just that he only trots out this voice in his dealings with Bugs Bunny. In fact, Wile E. Coyote’s delivery of reading his own business card to Bugs — in which his profession is listed simply as “genius,” later upgraded to “super genius” — was a big inspiration for me to use my own middle initial. And call myself a super genius, but the main point is the aural memory made a vivid impression!
Anyway, who knows where on earth (or elsewhere) we’ll be in 13 months, but it’s nice to have something to look forward to. And don’t forget, we simply must turn out in droves to see this movie at the theaters, in order to really stick it to Zaslav. Supporting Coyote vs. Acme while in Ketchup’s hands is a score for us in the ongoing war of Looney Tunes vs. Zaslav.
New images from ‘COYOTE VS ACME’
In theaters next year. pic.twitter.com/QJ9ydIYdFC
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 26, 2025
photos credit: Getty, Getty images for Netflix and via Twitter