Dave Green To Direct ‘Coyote Vs. Acme,’ Warner Bros.’s Hybrid Wile E. Coyote Movie

The pesky Road Runner may have eluded him, but Wile E. Coyote has come one step closer to getting the next-best thing: his own feature. Warner Bros.’s Coyote vs. Acme, which was announced last year, now has a director in Dave Green.

After starting out directing music videos, Green made his first feature, the animated sci-fi film Earth to Echo, in 2014. Produced by Disney, the film was put into turnaround and released by Relativity Media. Green was then hired by Paramount to helm Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. The cg-live action hybrid grossed $245 million worldwide in 2016.

Coyote vs. Acme, to be made under Warner Animation Group, will reportedly mix animation and live action. Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, who were created by director Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese, have starred in dozens of Warner Bros. cartoons since their debut in 1949.

Chris McKay, director of The Lego Batman Movie, is attached as producer, alongside Jon and Josh Silberman. Jesse Ehrman is overseeing for the studio. When news of this project broke last year, it was reported that the Silbermans, who were executive story editors on the short-lived 2016 Fox animated series Bordertown, would write the film, however the project is now seeking a writer.

The Looney Tunes characters haven’t appeared in a feature film since the 2003 flop Looney Tunes: Back in Action. They will also star in Space Jam 2, the hybrid sequel due for release in July 2021. The studio is also bringing back Tom and Jerry for a feature reboot, again mixing animation and live action, which will come out in December 2020.

It’s interesting to note that Ian Frazier wrote a satirical piece titled “Coyote v. Acme” for a 1990 issue of The New Yorker, in which Wile E. Coyote sues his regular weapons supplier for its consistently malfunctioning products.

The story was first reported by Variety.