John Cena's Coyote Vs. Acme Movie Fails To Find New Home, Likely Shelved Permanently

In 2018, Warner Bros. first announced the development of "Coyote vs. Acme," a feature-length film centered around the "Looney Tunes" character Wile E. Coyote. In 2022, John Cena signed on as the film's primary antagonist, his latest role working under Warner Bros. Discovery following "The Suicide Squad" film and "Peacemaker" series. But it appears that much like Cena himself, "Coyote vs. Acme" won't be seen anytime soon.

According to The Wrap, producer Chris DeFaria received a phone call from a Warner Bros. executive in January expressing a desire to move on from the project. Warner Bros. had previously reversed a decision to cancel the movie, and allowed the filmmakers to shop it around to other studios. However, it's said with WBD's fourth-quarter earnings call scheduled for February 23 that those on the film's team believe the company will take a tax write-off and shelve the project indefinitely.

The Wrap reports that several sources indicated the film had screenings with Netflix, Amazon, and Paramount, all submitting lucrative offers. Paramount reportedly proposed a theatrical release component to their acquisition. Alas, Warner Bros. is said to have been looking for a figure in the range of $75-80 million when factoring in the $35-40 million they could get as a tax write-off and had allegedly offered no room for negotiation on the figure. The Wrap further reported that the executives responsible for the decision-making — David Zaslav, Michael De Luca, Bill Damaschke and Pam Abdy — had not even seen the finished version of the movie. Zaslav was mentioned as never seeing the movie in any form, while De Luca and Abdy viewed a director's cut, and Damaschke saw the first audience preview. It is worth noting that 'Coyote vs. Acme' was brought into development by the former regime prior to Warner Bros' merger with Discovery in April 2022.