John Cena Makes Peace With Coyote vs. Acme's Wild Road to Theatres
A film that was written off as a tax loss nearly three years ago is finally reaching cinemas — and its star says he has made peace with the journey.
John Cena spoke about Coyote vs. Acme in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, as reported by Deadline on 13 August 2026. The Looney Tunes live-action hybrid, directed by Dave Green from a screenplay by Samy Burch, opens in US theatres on 28 August through Ketchup Entertainment.
Cena's comments carry a particular weight because of what happened to the film. Warner Bros. Discovery shelved the finished picture in November 2023, claiming a $30 million tax write-off — a move that drew widespread attention and, for a time, looked like the end of the road for a completed movie that audiences would never see.
Cena, who stars alongside Will Forte, Lana Condor, Tone Bell and Martha Kelly, told Entertainment Weekly that he can "accept both the positive and the negative" of the situation. He framed his outlook in the plain language of an actor who does not control the underlying asset. "I don't own my performance," Cena said. "I am contracted to do a job, and the person who owns it decides what happens with it."
He admitted the answer is "not the common one" among those who worked on the film. But he was clear about where he lands: even if the movie had never seen the light of day, the takeaway was being on set with people who made him better.
The film's rescue came in stages. Deadline reported in March 2025 that Warner Bros. was in deep negotiations to sell the shelved title. The deal closed with Ketchup Entertainment in a sale reported to be in the $50 million range. The film's official website, coyotevsacme.com, now lists Ketchup Entertainment as the distributor.
Audience interest has been building. The trailer recorded over 25 million views, per Deadline. The film is scheduled to premiere at San Diego Comic-Con on 25 July 2026, ahead of its theatrical bow. John Cena shared the first poster on his official Facebook page on 12 August, confirming the 28 August release.
What makes the story unusual is the arc itself. A studio finishes a film, shelves it for a tax benefit, and then sells it to another distributor who brings it to market. That chain of decisions — each made by different people at different points — is the part of the business the public rarely sees. Coyote vs. Acme will now have its moment in front of audiences who, for years, were told it would never arrive.
Cena, for his part, said he loves the film. He just had to tell himself it was shelved for the right reasons — even if he does not get to make that call.
