Warner Bros.’ Wile E. Coyote Movie Sets Dave Green to Direct

Cue the falling pianos: Warner Bros.’ Wile E. Coyote movie, “Coyote vs. Acme,” is one step closer to the big screen, having secured director Dave Green.

Green will help develop the live action-animation hybrid, which is currently seeking a writer.  The animated feature follows the infamous Looney Tunes prairie woof whose objective is obliterating his nemesis Road Runner. Acme is the fictional company that provides Coyote with his many weapons, all of which invariably fail, leaving him squashed flat or burnt to a crisp.

Green most recently helmed 2016’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows,” which was released by Paramount and earned over $245 million worldwide. Prior to that, he directed the cult animated film “Earth to Echo,” about a group of kids who come to the rescue of a visiting alien. He is a protege of Sam Raimi, and a prolific music video and short film director. Green is with UTA, Kaplan/Perrone and Hirsch Wallerstein.

Wile E. Coyote is part of Warner’s Looney Tunes characters, which include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, and Marvin the Martian. The dialogue-free Coyote character first appeared in 1949 in “Fast and Furry-ous,” the first of 49 cartoons in which he was never able to catch the Road Runner.

“Coyote vs. Acme” producers include Chris McKay (director of “Lego Batman) and screenwriters Jon and Josh Silberman (“Deadbeat,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”). Jesse Ehrman is overseeing for the studio.

The Warner Animation Group is also reviving other beloved characters, including a sequel to the live-action-hybrid “Space Jam” starring LeBron James and Bugs Bunny, and a feature based on Hannah-Barbera characters Tom and Jerry, with Chloe Grace Moretz, Michael Pena, Rob Delaney and Ken Jeong.

By Matt Donnelly/Variety