John Cena's Latest Movie Shelved
John Cena, like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Dave Bautista, has made a name for himself as a big-screen actor as well as a WWE wrestler. One of his big roles for 2023 was supposed to be in Warner Bros.' Coyote vs. Acme, but it turns out the movie is being locked away in the vault.
“With the re-launch of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation in June, the studio has shifted its global strategy to focus on theatrical releases,” a WB Motion Picture Group spokesperson said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “With this new direction, we have made the difficult decision not to move forward with Coyote vs Acme. We have tremendous respect for the filmmakers, casts, and crew, and are grateful for their contributions to the film."
The hybrid CGI/live-action movie was first greenlit in December 2020 and set to debut on HBO Max. Its release was set for July 21, 2023, but as the date got closer, there was radio silence surrounding the film with no trailer or sign of its impending drop. Instead, in April 2022, WB scrapped the movie from its release calendar and opted to release Barbie on July 21 instead; coincidentally, Cena still appeared on movie screens that day with a brief cameo in the doll movie.
Cena was tapped to play the CEO of Acme Corporation, the fictitious company featured in Looney Tunes' iconic Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons. The film itself is based on the 1990 New Yorker humor article "Coyote v. Acme."
Sadly, it seems the movie has disappeared faster than Road Runner taking off into the distance.