When Warner Bros. Discovery dropped an anvil on Coyote vs. Acme, it was like Batgirl all over again — except it might have been an even bigger blow. While it’s up for serious questioning as to whether or not Batgirl was truly “unreleasable”, Coyote vs. Acme was by most accounts looking to be a pretty darn good movie. Now, the directors of Batgirl are showing their support for a fellow WBD movie that was left hovering over a cliff’s edge.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the directors behind Batgirl, showed their concern over how studios are willing to openly discard films, particularly name-checking the director of Coyote vs. Acme. “It’s an extra thing to worry about in Hollywood, and that’s sad. I think that we all are artists. We are friends with director Dave Green; he’s our boy. We hope that he will be able to do a movie in the future. I think that movies must be seen by the audience, and the audience must judge them.”
The announcements of both Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme being canned have drawn the rightful ire of movie fans, with Warner Bros. coming under heavy scrutiny for just tossing them away despite the work and passion that went into them. But while Batgirl is very likely to never see release in any completed form, it’s still possible that Coyote vs. Acme gets its day. Regardless, in both instances, WBD peppered their statements with empty praise of being “grateful” for the filmmakers while also saying they had their own strategies (that is, a tax write-off…) in place.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah do at least have Bad Boys: Ride or Die out next week, while hopefully Dave Green can bring Acme vs. Coyote to the public sometime in the near future.
On Coyote vs. Acme’s shelving, star Will Forte said the following: “Super funny throughout, visually stunning, sweet, sincere, and emotionally resonant in a very earned way. As the credits rolled, I just sat there thinking how lucky I was to be a part of something so special. That quickly turned to confusion and frustration. This was the movie they’re not going to release?”
What do you make of the shelving of both Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme? Do you see this to be a growing trend in the future of Hollywood? Share your thoughts below.