Coyote vs. Acme is a 2026 American comedy film directed by Dave Green and written by Samy Burch, who developed the story with James Gunn and Jeremy Slater. Loosely based on the 1990 The New Yorker magazine article "Coyote v. Acme" by Ian Frazier (itself using elements from the Looney Tunes cartoons), it follows Wile E. Coyote as he enlists a billboard attorney to sue the Acme Corporation for repeatedly selling him faulty products. The live-action animated film stars Will Forte, Lana Condor, Tone Bell, Luis Guzmán, Martha Kelly, P. J. Byrne, Kenneth Choi, and John Cena, with Eric Bauza leading the voice cast.
Development began in August 2018 with Chris McKay as producer and Jon and Josh Silberman writing the screenplay. Green was hired to direct in December 2019, and Burch, Slater, and Gunn joined the following year. Cena, Forte, and Condor were cast in early 2022. Live-action filming took place in New Mexico from March to May 2022. The film was produced by Warner Animation Group, Keylight Pictures, and Gunn's production company Troll Court Entertainment.
Warner Bros. Discovery initially shelved Coyote vs. Acme in November 2023 to obtain a tax write-off but later reversed its decision and allowed the filmmakers to seek other distributors following public backlash. After several unsuccessful negotiations with various distributors, Ketchup Entertainment acquired the rights for $50 million in March 2025, after previously doing so for Warner Bros. Animation's Looney Tunes film The Day the Earth Blew Up (2024).
Coyote vs. Acme screened at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25, 2026, and was theatrically released in the United States on August 28, 2026. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $111 million worldwide on a budget of $70–72 million.
Plot
In 1992, in a world where cartoon characters co-exist amongst humans, Acme Corporation scientist Dr. Lorre leaks a message to an unknown contact before being captured and imprisoned inside an Acme portable hole.
Thirty years later, Wile E. Coyote, tired of failing to catch the Road Runner, sees a television ad for Avery, Jones & Maltese, a personal injury law firm in Albuquerque specializing in cartoon violence cases involving Acme products. Wile E. meets with the senior partner Kevin Avery, looking to sue Acme for the various defective devices used in chasing the Road Runner. While Kevin's niece and intern Paige is eager to take Acme to court, Kevin prefers to settle to avoid a risky trial. However, Wile E. rejects the settlement offered by Acme's lawyer Buddy Crane, forcing a trial.
The firm tries to subpoena the Road Runner to testify, but he evades them. Meanwhile, Acme CEO Foghorn Leghorn warns Buddy to prevent the trial from revealing any corporate secrets. After a poor first trial session, Kevin receives a tip from an anonymous whistleblower to meet with former Acme employee Daffy Duck, who conveys the warning Lorre sent him in 1992 about "Project Sisyphus". Kevin admits to Wile E. that he tries to settle all cases due to having lost multiple trials early in his career, but Wile E. encourages Kevin to believe he can beat Acme the same way Wile E. believes he will catch the Road Runner. Though this inspires Kevin, he soon discovers Wile E.'s motive for the lawsuit is to capture the Road Runner in court. Acme attempts to catch the Road Runner, believing they will testify against Wile E. given their past, but the Road Runner evades them. Meanwhile, Paige learns from Lorre's wife Granny that, before his disappearance, Lorre did product development for Acme, who now force their pet Tweety to serve as Acme's mercenary.
The team discovers the whistleblower is Bugs Bunny, who reveals Project Sisyphus is a product testing program formerly headed by Dr. Lorre, using cartoon violence to improve Acme's products for humans. When the program drove its test subjects insane, Lorre tried to object, but was silenced, and Acme pivoted to testing in the wild on unsuspecting clients like Wile E. Off Bugs' suggestion, Kevin tries to get Project Sisyphus on the record by questioning Acme's Head of PR Tasmanian Devil on the stand, but Acme's legal team sabotage him and the judge dismisses the case. However, Kevin reveals the conspiracy to the press, prompting the government to call a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. Wile E. only agrees to join when Kevin claims the Road Runner will be there. The night before the hearing, Kevin admits the truth after being badgered about it and berates Wile E. for his obsession with the Road Runner, prompting Wile E. to storm out. While wandering the streets, Wile E. narrowly evades Tweety's attempt to kill him. Kevin tries to rescue him, but gets knocked out and separated when Wile E. abandons him once again, still offended.
Kevin rejects a last bribe attempt by Buddy and gives an impassioned speech at the hearing, admiring Wile E.'s determination despite repeated failures. Wile E. arrives, having overheard, and reconciles with Kevin. Kevin gets Foghorn to publicly admit to Project Sisyphus, but Foghorn argues that cartoons like Wile E. are not important enough for anyone to care if they are harmed. However, the Road Runner arrives and testifies to the harm Acme products have caused Wile E. over the years and further explains as Wile E.'s friend that he cares for and misses him, moving Wile E. to spare him. Senator Elmer Fudd declines to pursue federal charges due to Wile E. being the sole plaintiff. As Buddy and Foghorn gloat, Wile E. activates the trap he had set for the Road Runner, caging and humiliating the Acme team.
Back in Albuquerque, the firm is inundated with cartoons seeking to sue Acme for damages. Further leaks from Bugs launch a federal investigation that exposes the full extent of Project Sisyphus and leads to the arrests of Foghorn and Buddy. Dr. Lorre is freed and reunites with Granny and Tweety. Wile E. bids goodbye to Kevin and Paige, who is now a partner at the firm, before reuniting with the Road Runner and resuming their chase.
Cast Will Forte as Kevin Avery, a down-and-out billboard attorney and member of Avery, Jones & Maltese who becomes Wile E. Coyote's lawyer. He is named for Looney Tunes animator Tex Avery. Lana Condor as Paige Avery, Kevin's niece and an intern at Avery, Jones & Maltese. John Cena as Buddy Crane, the Acme Corporation's lawyer who was Kevin's rival at Harvard Law School. Tone Bell as Sal Maltese, a partner of Kevin and Dottie at Avery, Jones & Maltese. He is named for Looney Tunes screenwriter Michael Maltese, co-creator of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Martha Kelly as Dottie Jones, a partner of Kevin and Sal at Avery, Jones & Maltese. She is named for Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones, co-creator of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Luis Guzmán as Judge Troppogrosso, a strict and no-nonsense judge overseeing the trial between Wile E. Coyote and the Acme Corporation. P. J. Byrne as Bill Pelicanos, an Acme Corporation lawyer. John Early as Henry Heslop, a local Albuquerque television news anchor. Nancy Linehan Charles as Cherry, the manager of the Prickly Pear motel where Kevin lives. Kenneth Choi as Oscar Jeon, an Albuquerque lawyer. Ernie Vigil as Talon, an Acme enforcer working with Tweety to silence Kevin and Wile E.
Voices Eric Bauza as Bugs Bunny, a whistleblower who assists the firm in learning about Project Sisyphus. Archival audio of Mel Blanc taken from The Ducksters is used for Bugs' screaming. Charlie Dog, a clerk at Avery, Jones & Maltese Daffy Duck, a former Acme test subject driven insane by Project Sisyphus and confined at St. Looney's Asylum Dr. Peter Lorre, an Acme corporation scientist Foghorn Leghorn, the CEO of the Acme Corporation Gossamer, the process server at Avery, Jones & Maltese Pepé Le Pew, a flirtatious skunk who was one of Acme Labs' test subjects Porky Pig, an Albuquerque local and occasional client of Avery, Jones & Maltese Senator Elmer Fudd, the senatorial chairman of the congressional hearing The Road Runner, a key witness being sought for Wile E.'s trial. While Bauza voices the Road Runner when testifying before Congress, archival audio of background artist Paul Julian is used for the rest of his dialogue. Tweety, Granny and Dr. Lorre's pet bird, forced to serve as a mercenary for Acme in order to protect Granny after Dr. Lorre's imprisonment Candi Milo as Granny, Dr. Lorre's reclusive wife Witch Hazel, an employee at Avery, Jones & Maltese Miss Prissy, a hen serving on the jury at the trial Jim Cummings as the Tasmanian Devil, the head of Acme's Public Relations
Production
Development and writing The film is loosely based on Ian Frazier's 1990 New Yorker humorous legal piece "Coyote v. Acme", which imagines Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Company for consistently selling him defective and inaccurately labeled products. A three-part series with the same premise, "Cliff-hanger Justice" by Joey Green, had previously been published in National Lampoon in 1982, though Frazier was unaware of it when writing "Coyote v. Acme". Scott Rudin Productions bought the rights to Frazier's article in 1998 but could not get permission from Warner Bros. to film it. The options finally lapsed in 2006 before James Gunn successfully pitched the film to Warner in 2015. Gunn asked Jeremy Slater to write the film's first draft due to their friendship, which included growing up with Looney Tunes. The screenplay had some limitations due to other projects in development—Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck were off-limits, for example. The Tasmanian Devil had a notable appearance in Slater's script. Gunn and Slater agreed that Wile E. should be a lovable loser who never speaks and is closer to a pet dog than a villain or the butt of a joke. Though Warner rejected Slater's screenplay, its ethos informed the final draft.
In August 2018, Warner Bros. Pictures announced the development of a Wile E. Coyote project, titled Coyote vs. Acme, with The Lego Batman Movie (2017) director Chris McKay as producer and Jon and Josh Silberman writing the script. In mid-December 2019, Warner Animation Group hired Dave Green to direct the live-action/animated hybrid film, while Jon and Josh Silberman were replaced as screenwriters, but remained producers. In December 2020, McKay left the project, while the Silbermans left their producing roles and returned to screenwriting duties alongside Samy Burch, Slater and Gunn. In March 2023, the film's final writing credits were given: Burch received sole credit for the screenplay and shared credit for the story with Slater and Gunn, while off-screen additional literary credit was given to Alex Cuthbertson, Jacob Fleisher, Matt Fusfeld, Dan Goor, BenDavid Grabinski, Craig Wright and Jon & Josh Silberman. Gunn, alongside Tom & Jerry (2021) producer Chris DeFaria, also received final credit as producers on the film, with Gunn under his production banner Two Monkeys, A Goat and Another, Dead, Monkey.
In November 2022, Foghorn Leghorn, Granny, Sylvester the Cat and Tweety were confirmed to be in the film. In December, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam were also confirmed to be in the film. In January 2023, Porky Pig was also confirmed to be in the film. Editor Carsten Kurpanek described the film's story as a "David vs. Goliath story" that tackles Wile E. Coyote's persistence in the face of the Acme Corporation's "cynical and casual cruelness of capitalism and corporate greed."