In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Will Forte said he hopes the confusion caused when Warner Bros. canceled the release of Coyote vs. Acme will bring “a lot more attention” to the film, which hits theaters this August.
Asked for his immediate reaction to the film being shelved, Forte told the magazine: “Extreme frustration, extreme frustration, great anger, pure anger.” “But in the end, it’s mixed with pride in this movie that we made. And you never know. Everything happens for a reason. And it’s certainly possible that the crazy journey this movie takes will help it get more attention because it’s a story that people know a little bit about. But I don’t think we needed this crazy journey.”
Warner Bros. infamously delayed Coyote vs. Acme to November 2023 in order to get a $30 million tax deduction. This decision was widely condemned by the film industry. Before releasing Coyote vs. Acme, Warner Bros. sparked outrage for making the same decision for Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt.
Coyote vs. Acme was originally scheduled for release on July 21, 2023, before Warner Bros. postponed the release. The studio announced at the time that it had no plans to release the film, a $70 million live-action/animation hybrid that also stars John Cena and Lana Condor. Forte appeared in the film as Wile E. Coyote’s lawyer. The screenplay was written by May December screenwriter Sammy Birch.
“I remember when I first heard that Warner Bros. was going to release this movie, I hadn’t seen the movie yet,” Forte told EW. “I’d been talking to people for a while, and I’d heard that the test scores were really good, but when it was shelved, I thought, ‘Oh, maybe it’s not as good as they said it was’…[Then]I was able to watch it. I loved it. I was so proud. I was so angry, because it was this beautiful, special little movie that I should have been able to share with my kids.”
Four months after Warner Bros. released Coyote vs. Acme, Forte posted a note on Instagram to the film’s cast and crew, writing: “Look, I don’t give a shit when it comes to the business of Hollywood. Even if a movie tests really well (like ours), there’s no guarantee it’ll be a hit.” He added, “At the end of the day, the people who paid for this movie, It’s clear that you can do whatever you want with this movie. That doesn’t mean I have to like it (or hate it), or that it’s not great.”
In an interview with Movieweb last year, Forte urged his followers to remember what Warner Bros. did with the film, saying, “My feeling was, this is a shitty movie. It’s a very fun movie. It deserves better than ever. I can’t possibly explain why the decision was made not to release it, but it makes my blood boil.”
“Thank you for asking about this, because I love talking about this movie and I don’t want people to forget what[Warner Bros.]did with it,” he added at the time. “Thank you for letting us make it, but please don’t make something that we’re into and not show it. I understand if it’s terrible, but it’s really great. Maybe we’ll get to see it in some way someday. I hope people do. I was really proud of it.”
In March 2025, news broke that Coyote vs. Acme had been saved by Ketchup Entertainment, with the studio reportedly picking up the film in a deal worth $50 million. “Coyote vs. Acme” will be released in theaters on August 28th.
