John Cena's Lost Looney Tunes Film Gets Surprise Second Chance

Max Sterling, 4/1/2025In a plot twist that would make even Wile E. Coyote's head spin, Warner Bros.' abandoned animation "Coyote vs. Acme" has found refuge with Ketchup Entertainment. Talk about a MEEP MEEP moment for corporate bean counters! Sometimes, it seems, the Road Runner isn't the only one who can dodge an anvil.

The film's unlikely salvation comes at a peculiar moment for Warner Bros. and its relationship with animation. Remember Batgirl? Scoob! Holiday Haunt? They're still gathering digital dust somewhere in the studio's tax write-off cemetery. But somehow, against all odds, this particular Road Runner chase refused to end.

Ketchup Entertainment's CEO Gareth West couldn't contain his enthusiasm about the acquisition. "We're thrilled to have made a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to bring this film to audiences worldwide." Sure, it's the kind of statement executives make in their sleep, but there's something refreshingly genuine about betting on a project that Warner Bros. had essentially left for dead.

The timing couldn't be more fascinating — or concerning, depending on your perspective. Warner Bros. has been wielding its corporate axe with particular enthusiasm lately, chopping countless cartoons from its Max streaming service faster than you can say "That's all folks!" Their recent animated venture, The Day the Earth Blew Up, managed to do exactly that at the box office, scraping together a measly $10.5 million against its $15 million budget. Yikes.

But hold onto your anvils, because there's actually some good news in this mess. Warner Bros. isn't completely abandoning its animated heritage. Come June, they're releasing the Looney Tunes Collector's Vault Volume 1, complete with remastered shorts featuring supposedly "controversial" characters like Pepé Le Pew and Speedy Gonzales. As Warner's Library Historian George Feltenstein put it, these characters haven't been canceled — they're just getting a fresh coat of paint for 2026.

The whole situation reads like a Looney Tunes short itself. Here's Warner Bros., playing the role of Elmer Fudd, repeatedly shooting itself in the foot with its handling of animated properties. Meanwhile, Coyote vs. Acme keeps running, surviving every ACME-branded disaster thrown its way, until finally catching a break with Ketchup Entertainment's intervention.

Whether this particular gambit pays off remains to be seen. But there's something oddly poetic about a film starring Warner Bros.' most persistent failure finding success through sheer... well, persistence. Perhaps there's a lesson in there somewhere — though probably not the one Wile E. Coyote had in mind.

Talk about a plot twist that would make even Bugs Bunny do a double-take. After languishing in corporate limbo for what felt like an eternity, Coyote vs. Acme has pulled off the entertainment industry equivalent of surviving a fall from a desert cliff. Ketchup Entertainment — yes, that's their real name — swooped in to rescue the John Cena-led project from Warner Bros.' increasingly crowded vault of abandoned productions.The film's unlikely salvation comes at a peculiar moment for Warner Bros. and its relationship with animation. Remember Batgirl? Scoob! Holiday Haunt? They're still gathering digital dust somewhere in the studio's tax write-off cemetery. But somehow, against all odds, this particular Road Runner chase refused to end.Ketchup Entertainment's CEO Gareth West couldn't contain his enthusiasm about the acquisition. "We're thrilled to have made a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to bring this film to audiences worldwide." Sure, it's the kind of statement executives make in their sleep, but there's something refreshingly genuine about betting on a project that Warner Bros. had essentially left for dead.The timing couldn't be more fascinating — or concerning, depending on your perspective. Warner Bros. has been wielding its corporate axe with particular enthusiasm lately, chopping countless cartoons from its Max streaming service faster than you can say "That's all folks!" Their recent animated venture, The Day the Earth Blew Up, managed to do exactly that at the box office, scraping together a measly $10.5 million against its $15 million budget. Yikes.But hold onto your anvils, because there's actually some good news in this mess. Warner Bros. isn't completely abandoning its animated heritage. Come June, they're releasing the Looney Tunes Collector's Vault Volume 1, complete with remastered shorts featuring supposedly "controversial" characters like Pepé Le Pew and Speedy Gonzales. As Warner's Library Historian George Feltenstein put it, these characters haven't been canceled — they're just getting a fresh coat of paint for 2026.The whole situation reads like a Looney Tunes short itself. Here's Warner Bros., playing the role of Elmer Fudd, repeatedly shooting itself in the foot with its handling of animated properties. Meanwhile, Coyote vs. Acme keeps running, surviving every ACME-branded disaster thrown its way, until finally catching a break with Ketchup Entertainment's intervention.Whether this particular gambit pays off remains to be seen. But there's something oddly poetic about a film starring Warner Bros.' most persistent failure finding success through sheer... well, persistence. Perhaps there's a lesson in there somewhere — though probably not the one Wile E. Coyote had in mind.