Aug 26, 2026 8:54pm PT

‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Cast and Crew Held a ‘Funeral Screening’ After the Movie Was Shelved: ‘Was Emotional in So Many Ways’

COYOTE VS. ACME, (aka COYOTE V. ACME), from left: Lana Condor, Wile E. Coyote (voice: Eric Bauza), Will Forte, 2026. © Ketchup Entertainment /Courtesy Everett Collection

Courtesy Everett Collection

What do you do when you think your movie will never see the light of day? Have a “funeral screening,” of course.

That’s exactly what the team behind “ Coyote vs. Acme” did when they feared the live-action-animation hybrid comedy was locked in the Warner Bros. vault for good. Luckily, after WB. shelved the project, Ketchup Entertainment scooped up the title from the studio in March 2025 and slated it for theatrical release. Audiences will finally get to see the “Looney Tunes” movie on Aug. 28.

When asked what it was like walking into the “funeral screening,” star Lana Condor told Variety at the film’s L.A. premiere on Wednesday, “It’s so horrible. It’s like, really easy to blame yourself. You almost feel like, ‘Was I the problem?’ You’re devastated for the hundreds of people who have worked on this far longer than I have. It feels like a funeral.”

Popular on Variety

Director Dave Green said there were “many, many times” he thought “Coyote vs. Acme” would never come out. Despite his disappointment, he described the mood at the “funeral screening” as “celebratory.”

“You can have a New Orleans funeral, [with] a jazz band walking up the street, just having a celebration,” Green joked. “That screening for us was emotional in so many ways. It was a bit of a party because we were able to share the movie with friends and other filmmakers who had never seen the movie. And I got to share it with Will [Forte] and Lana, who never got to see the final movie. So that moment was so charged and electric, and the room played so hot.”

"Coyote vs. Acme" director David Green says the cast and crew had a "funeral screening" when they thought the movie was shelved for good:

“That screening for us was emotional in so many ways. It was a bit of a party because we were able to share the movie with friends and other… pic.twitter.com/yRNcmqAhns

— Variety (@Variety) August 27, 2026

“Coyote vs. Acme” sees “Looney Tunes” villain Wile E. Coyote take the Acme Corporation to court after being injured countless times from using its gadgets (think rocket-powered skates and anvils). Condor and Will Forte star. Other cast members include John Cena, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, Luis Guzmán, P.J. Byrne and John Early.

John Cena says it was “not normal” for the studio to shelve “Coyote vs. Acme” in 2023: “It’s somebody else’s property, and what they choose to do with it is what they choose to do with it.” pic.twitter.com/Ks3emzQ9oD

— Variety (@Variety) August 27, 2026

‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Cast and Crew Held a ‘Funeral Screening’ After the Movie Was Shelved: ‘Was Emotional in So Many Ways’

‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Cast and Crew Held a ‘Funeral Screening’ After the Movie Was Shelved: ‘Was Emotional in So Many Ways’

Related Stories

Miss USA, Miss Teen USA Pageants Pulled From The CW Just a Week Before Air

Popular on Variety

Broadcast Networks Fire Up San Sebastián

Netflix to Report Box Office Numbers for 6 Upcoming Movies as Streamer Escalates Theatrical Plans (EXCLUSIVE)

Kate Winslet to Star in Vengeance Drama ‘The Unheard’ at Netflix From ‘Adolescence’ Writer Jack Thorne

‘Scooby-Doo’ Netflix Series Casts Andre Benjamin, Cathy Moriarty

‘Outer Banks’ Season 5 Debuts With 9.4 Million Views in Four Days

‘You’ Author Caroline Kepnes Sets Series Directorial Debut With Psychological Thriller ‘The Attentionist’ (EXCLUSIVE)

More From Our Brands