Warner Bros. Discovery shelves John Cena’s upcoming $70 million-budgeted Hollywood project

Warner Bros. cancels the release of the John Cena-starrer animation film Coyote vs. Acme as a $30 million tax write-down.

Warner Bros. Discovery shelves John Cena’s upcoming $70 million-budgeted Hollywood project

Warner Bros. shelves John Cena's movie (via Hollywood Reporter)

Wrestler-turned-actor John Cena just had his last scheduled WWE appearance at the Crown Jewel premium live event, much to the dismay of his admirers. Now it appears that his fans might not get to see their favorite star either in WWE or in a Hollywood project anytime soon. This comes after the recent statement from Warner Bros. confirming that Cena’s upcoming film, Coyote vs. Acme, is on the shelf as a tax write-off.

The John Cena starring movie, Coyote vs. Acme, was a hybrid live-action/animation comedy film. The comedy entertainer was based on the famous character of Looney Tunes, Wile E. Coyote. Moreover, a Warner Bros. spokesperson stated Deadline announcing the cancellation of the film’s release. The film had an initial July 21, 2023, theatrical release. However, Warner Bros. allotted that date to the Greta Gerwig directorial “Barbie.”

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This decision follows the previous cancellation of the $90 and $40 million big-budgeted Batgirl and the Scoob! Holiday Haunt. However, the only difference in the case of the Cena starring movie is that the filming was over last year itself. The studio seemingly has no interest in selling the rights to another studio, nor are they planning to stream it on their platform, Max.

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With the re-launch of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation in June, the studio has shifted its global strategy to focus on theatrical releases. 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.
Warner Bros’ spokesperson statement

The unanticipated news of the film’s shelving came as a major blow to director David Green. He took to his X handle to express his utter disappointment. Coyote vs. Acme was initially announced in 2020. Two years later, the production finished and the film was ready for a theatrical release. However, no trailer came out to promote the film.

John Cena continues to hint towards his WWE retirement

Amidst the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, WWE and Hollywood superstar John Cena made his return to WWE for a brief two-month run in September. Over the last two months, the Cenation Leader put over the likes of LA Knight and Solo Sikoa. Now that his ephemeral stint with WWE is over, the Peacemaker star is seemingly hinting at his probable retirement.

John Cena
John Cena (via Reddit)

John Cena recently took to Instagram to share yet another cryptic post. He posted an ambiguous image of what seemed like the end credits of a film. The posted image read, “The End,” worrying the WWE Universe. Many fans started speculating that the 46-year-old was going to hang up his boot. Some fans believed this came after the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union struck a deal with Hollywood studios, ending their months-long strike.

Besides, the image that Cena uploaded on his handle was seemingly an end-credit shot from the Looney Tunes cartoon. Thus, the picture was likely alluding to the aforementioned report about Warner Bros. pulling the plug on Cena’s Coyote vs. Acme. Moreover, it remains to be seen whether Crown Jewel was Cena’s last WWE run or the Hollywood star returns for one last run.

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