Will Forte Felt 'Gaslit' When Warner Bros. Shelved 'Coyote vs. Acme.' Now It's in Theatres — and the Reviews Are Glowing.

Will Forte said he felt "gaslit" while watching Coyote vs. Acme sit on a shelf at Warner Bros., and that the fan campaign and glowing reviews that followed have vindicated him. The film held its Los Angeles premiere on a Wednesday, capping several years of limbo that nearly ended in a tax write-off.

Warner Bros. Discovery shelved the film in November 2023, opting to claim a tax write-off rather than release it — a cost-saving move the studio had already used on Batgirl the year before. The decision meant a finished movie, with Will Forte and John Cena in the cast, would likely never reach audiences. In March 2025, Ketchup Entertainment acquired the picture and set it for a summer 2026 theatrical run. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Coyote vs. Acme is a hybrid live-action and animation film set in the Looney Tunes universe. Wile E. Coyote sues the Acme Corporation; Forte plays his inexperienced lawyer, Cena the attorney for Acme.

Forte described the period after the shelving as "an emotional roller coaster" and said he never expected the online fan campaign to actually revive the film. He had given up on it, he said, and thanked the fan community for refusing to let it disappear. The positive reviews now arriving have been validating, he added — a contrast with his 2010 action-comedy MacGruber, which he loved despite its poor reception. "I am accepting positive reviews and saying they do mean something," Forte said. (The Hollywood Reporter)

The premiere leaned hard into the underdog narrative. A costumed Wile E. Coyote marched down the red carpet with the UCLA marching band, carrying a sign reading "Absolute Cinema" — a reference to a fan who picketed outside the Warner Bros. lot in the rain after the cancellation went public. The same costumed coyote turned up inside the screening holding a different sign: "Thank you fans." Director Dave Green thanked everyone who spoke out for the film, including the rain-soaked protester on the lot.

Cena echoed the gratitude, noting that the film is getting a proper theatrical release and hoping that everyone who used their voice to save it would now show up to watch it. Forte drew the parallel himself: a small film fighting a big corporation, not unlike Wile E. Coyote taking on Acme. The film arrives amid very positive audience buzz and strong reviews, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (The Hollywood Reporter)

For a film that came within a ledger entry of never being seen, the premiere was a full-circle moment. The coyote, as ever, refused to stay down.