After Batgirl cancellation, Warner Bros. is set to totally delete a completed movie – and the CEO made the call without watching it
Netflix and Paramount reportedly wanted to buy the Looney Tunes movie from producer James Gunn
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Coyote vs. Acme, a Looney Tunes courtroom comedy starring John Cena and produced byJames Gunn, is reportedly set to be completely deleted by Warner Bros., despite interest from other studios.
In November 2023, it was announced that the movie would be shelved, despite production being complete. Warner Bros. then allowed the filmmakers to shop the movie around, but it sounds like they never stood much of a chance,despite optimism from one of the film’s voice actors.
According to a new report byThe Wrap, Warner Bros. would be set to make between $35 and $40 million on the tax write-off from shelving the movie and therefore wanted competing studios to pay around $75-80 million for it. The studio wouldn’t allow interested studios, which included Netflix and Paramount, to counter Warner Bros.' offer, either, making the deal a ‘take it or leave it’ situation.
What’s more, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav reportedly hadn’t even seen the movie before making the call, and three other studio bosses who were in on the decision-making hadn’t seen a completed version of the film.
The movie, directed by Dave Green and written byMay Decemberscreenwriter Samy Burch, was set to see Wile E. Coyote take Acme Corporation to court after every product he orders from them backfires on him in his vendetta against the Road Runner. A down-on-his-luck human attorney (Will Forte) takes on the case, who in turn discovers that his intimidating former boss (Cena) is now Acme’s CEO – so he’s even more determined to win the case.
Warner Bros. made headlines back in 2022 forscrapping their completed Batgirl movie, starring Leslie Grace and Brendan Fraser. Animated movieScoob! Holiday Haunt was also shelvedin the same year, despite almost being finished. Both of these films have yet to see the light of day.
For more, check out our picks of the biggestupcoming movieson the way in 2024.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.
After 18 years the Wayans brothers are reuniting for a new Scary Movie, the first in the comedy horror franchise in a decade
Melissa Barrera’s friend had a very unusual reaction to her new horror movie Your Monster, and it involves a NSFW Disney fantasy
Xbox has barely mentioned Conker’s Bad Fur Day in 10 years, but popstar Doja Cat just put the cult N64 platformer in front of 24 million people in the funniest way
