While it hasn’t been confirmed by Warner Bros Discovery management just yet, star Will Forte’s Coyote vs. Acme update seems to indicate that the battle is indeed over. The shelved Looney Tunes comedy adventure seems to be on its way to deletion, with little left to do but officially break the news to the public. Though voice actor Eric Bauza hasn’t given up hope for the project’s 2024 movie schedule status, he has shared his fears for what happens next in terms of the legendary animation franchise. To be honest, I don’t blame him for feeling this way.
Bauza offered his thoughts to IGN, which reached out to the actor to talk about the social media campaign to save Coyote vs. Acme. Ever vocal about saving this all-star romp, which also counted actor John Cena among its cast, Eric Bauza tried to put a brighter spin on this seemingly dark situation, which led to the following thoughts:
I hope at the end of the day, if this is a casualty of the financial side of business, that they remember to plant those seeds of other stories that can be told with these characters. Because what I'm afraid is going to happen is people will see how kind of easy it is to let go of a story that was really, really good, and then people might feel like, ah, ‘whatever. I missed it, I missed it.’ And that's tough. That's tough for me to even think that that might be a regular thing versus, ‘What else are you going to make? Let's make Looney Tunes stuff.’
The frustration over Warner Bros Discovery’s lack of Coyote vs. Acme closure makes me upset, both as a movie fan and as someone who was really into this film’s concept. Feeling like a spiritual sequel to Looney Tunes: Back in Action, the possibility of this project disappearing into digital oblivion is a stone cold bummer.
But moving past that still undetermined fate, Eric Bauza is absolutely correct. We should be looking for new projects for Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and any other Looney Tunes character to front. In a strange way, this desire ties into one of the messages that CEO David Zaslav has been repeating as of late, especially on that February 2024 earnings call that failed to even mention Coyote vs. Acme.
While highlighting other projects, like the latest Game of Thrones spinoff or the Harry Potter series adaptation going to HBO, Zaslav told the audience that Warner Bros.’ biggest franchises weren’t being used enough. In the case of the Looney Tunes, that sentiment couldn’t be more accurate.
Therefore, would-be animators, voice actors and directors of live-action/animation hybrid slapstick shouldn’t take Coyote vs. Acme’s potential demise as a deterrent. Like Eric Bauza said above, people should be looking ahead with clear eyes and anvils set high in the sky, and ready to ask the question, “What’s next, Doc?”
It’s an unfortunate setback we’re looking at in the moment, but the Looney Tunes brand has been through worse, and is still worth so much to the fans who love it. Maybe if Warner Bros. sees an outpouring of creatives wanting to tell more stories in that library of fun, it'll show just how much the brand is truly worth.
On the bright side, there’s still one Looney Tunes project we know we can look forward to this year. While we still don’t have a concrete release date on hand, The Day The Earth Blew Up is supposed to go theatrical at some point this year. Unfortunately, there’s a chance that even that project’s fortunes could slip. In which case, Mr. Bauza’s inspirational message above will be more important to heed than ever.
