Wile E. Coyote movie in development

The world’s most unlucky coyote sets his sights on a new target in a newly-announced feature film.

Wile E. Coyote is one of the most iconic of the Looney Tunes, which is saying something. But he might be leading the ‘Tunes charge back onto the big screen, as Warner Bros. is planning an animated film centering on the character, according to CinemaBlend.

This news was first reported by Deadline. 

Wile E. Coyote was introduced in 1948, and has appeared in around 49 cartoon shorts, for the most part trying to capture the elusive Road Runner, though occasionally appearing as an antagonist to Bugs Bunny.

The Coyote typically uses a variety of gadgets from the ACME Company, with disastrous results – from being flattened by boulders and anvils to incineration into a pile of ash from a flamethrower, or dismemberment from a cannon.

According to CinemaBlend, the title of the announced film will be Coyote Vs. ACME, with The LEGO Batman Movie director Chris McKay producing and the sibling writing team of Jon and Josh Sieberman (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) penning the script.

From the title, it seems likely that in some way he will be teaming up with the Road Runner to get revenge on ACME. Or maybe it will be a courtroom drama with Bugs as his lawyer, with lots of action sequences in flashback?

Because it’s an animated movie, and the script is currently being written, it will likely not appear until sometime in 2021, which is a little discouraging.

Wile E. Coyote appeared in a minor role in 1996’s Space Jam, assisting the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan save the Looney Tunes from being kidnapped and enslaved by the villainous Monstars. his most significant contribution – aside from running through a wall while chasing after the Road Runner during practice – is blowing up one of the baskets when a Monstar is attempting to dunk, leading to a compliment from Bugs on his demolition expertise.

That movie was also from Warner Bros., as was their last big-screen picture, 2003’s Looney Tunes: Back in Action, which starred Brendan Fraser (The Mummy trilogy, Blast From the Past) and The Office’s Jenna Fischer in a secret-agent caper starring Bugs and Daffy Duck. Wile E. appeared in this film, too.

Coyotes are also a branch of the family Canidae, as anyone who was a fan of John Erickson’s Hank the Cowdog series knows. They are well-represented as university mascots.

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