John Cena Reveals the Secret He Never Told Will Forte While Making ‘Coyote vs. Acme’

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John Cena Had a Secret He Never Told Will Forte While Making ‘Coyote vs. Acme’

Published Aug 25, 2026, 8:15 AM EDT

Summary

Collider's Steve Weintraub talks with Will Forte, John Cena, and Lana Condor for Coyote vs. Acme.
The trio discusses their reactions to the movie's shelving, reading the script, and animation/live-action hybrid influences.
Cena fans out over working with Forte.

There are many angles from which to view the treatment of Dave Green’s long-awaited Coyote vs. Acme. On the one hand, Warner Bros. Discovery’s tax write-off three years ago signals a discouraging shift in Hollywood, a trend that spells disaster any way you look at it. On the other, Ketchup Entertainment’s reclamation lends a meta aspect to the heart of this hero’s journey — the little guy facing off against an impossible adversary. While talking with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, stars Will Forte, John Cena, and Lana Condor offer their own perspectives on the film’s uphill battle to theaters.

Currently sitting at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes after 97 reviews, Coyote vs. Acme opens with a disgruntled Wile E. Coyote, once again bested by his nemesis, the Road Runner. In search of a different approach, he reaches out to attorney Kevin Avery (Forte) to sue the infamous ACME Corporation, whose products are at the root of all his failures.

During their interview, Forte, Cena, and Condor share what this long road to release has been like, from reading the script and working together on set, to the heartbreaking shelving that Forte says left him questioning, “Am I nuts?” They talk about the animation and live-action hybrid, and how Who Framed Roger Rabbit set the bar for movies like this, and Condor shares the hopeful message she hopes audiences take away from Coyote vs. Acme.

John Cena Was a Huge Will Forte Fan Before 'Coyote vs. Acme'

Cena says it was "a dream" working opposite the SNL alum.

COLLIDER: I have a whole bunch of important questions to ask. Number one, what is it actually like sharing the screen with MacGruber?

JOHN CENA: Oh, for me, it's a dream. I mean, the whiteout scene where you asked to use it as lube is brilliance. Will doesn’t know I’m such a fan of his work, but I am, and it was incredible. Also, a lot of WWE superstars in MacGruber. They had a short stay. They were blown to bits. But that's a movie that resonates with me. Love the Miata, too, and the pullout tape deck. Sorry. I’m so sorry.

WILL FORTE: You’ve gotta be careful with whiteout, because the whiteout is kind of like Magic Shell. You gotta really get in there quick.

CENA: That's what made me laugh.

Did you actually know that he was such a fan, or are you finding out?

CENA: I've been slowly dropping the breadcrumbs.

FORTE: He brought up this Tim & Eric “Fortin’ with Will” sketch earlier.

CENA: It’s brilliant.

FORTE: We worked together in Albuquerque. We were there for a while, and he never brought it up. It was an honor. I freaking love Peacemaker. So, if Peacemaker likes my stuff.

CENA: You never know how someone feels about their stuff, and you want the moments to be the moments. I'm a huge fan. Thank you for giving me a smile, escape, and entertainment for all these years. So, it was fucking awesome.

Were you a fan of MacGruber?

LANA CONDOR: I hadn't seen MacGruber. I’m so sorry!

CENA: Cool. It’s fine.

FORTE: I don't care when people don't.

CONDOR: But I'm a fan of Will Forte. There you go.

That is the right answer.

FORTE: I haven't seen For All the Boys, so we're even.

CONDOR: Hey, nice.

FORTE: And I'm a huge fan of yours.

CENA: It’s cool. It’s fine. There’s a lot out there.

FORTE: There are so many things of my friends that I have not seen. I never care if somebody hasn't seen something.

CONDOR: But also, for my friends, hot take, I don't love watching their work because it's hard for me to forget. Like, I'm like, “No, that's my bestie, Rachel. We were at the bar.”

CENA: They're still your friends, and you still have a great relationship with them.

CONDOR: I know. I just don't support their work at all.

CENA: You probably support it. You just don't see it.

CONDOR: No, I don’t support it.

CENA: Fair.

We're off on a tangent, but I have some friends that are actors, and it is hard because I see my friend on screen, and then it's very hard to remove the friendship from, “He's trying to portray a very emotional moment.”

CONDOR: Then, when he does it well, and you forget that that's your friend, then you know.

CENA: I'll add to the tangent. I think that's a hill that a lot of actors climb that have long-running success as a singular character. You're on an episodic that runs for, I don't know, 23 seasons without a break, and you're known as being invisible; you might have a steep hill to climb for people to be like, “Oh, isn't that the guy…?” It's weird because we think we know these people. We invite them into our living room, and, “Oh, that's the person. That's Seinfeld,” or “That's the person from this show.” It's a steep hill to climb.

Will Forte Thought He Was Crazy After 'Coyote vs. Acme' Was Shelved

"I felt a little gaslit."

Wile E. Coyote sitting next to Will Forte in a courtroom

Jumping into the film, the movie's fantastic. It makes no effing sense that this was considered not to be releasable. For the three of you, though, I am very curious because I've been paying attention in the interviews today, and everyone is so enthusiastic, and everyone is saying such positive things. You knew you had something, but what has it been like today hearing all these reporters saying, “It's really good. I laughed. I can't wait to share it with friends?”

FORTE: Well, you feel like you're not crazy, because I felt a little gaslit. We go through this whole process where we're making this movie that you're like, “This is going to be really good.” And then the post-production process continues climbing this hill, and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, it's gonna be great.” And the producers all seemed very excited about it. Then, the rug gets pulled out, and you're like, “Okay. Whoa. Well, maybe this isn't as good as they thought.” I hadn't seen the movie yet, and then I got to see it, and I'm like, “Okay, am I nuts? This is freaking awesome.” So, it's really nice because it…

CONDOR: Validates our feelings.

FORTE: Yeah. Because there's part of you that's also like, “Maybe I'm emotionally invested.” I don't know. But I love this thing, and I feel like it's so special. I cannot wait for people to see it.

'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' Set a High Bar for Animation and Live-Action Hybrids

"You can't think about that as you're making it."

When I was watching, I couldn't help but think about Who Framed Roger Rabbit. That film is a masterpiece. How much were you looking at that as the North Star? Because I view this as like the brother or sister or the cousin of Roger Rabbit.

CENA: From my perspective, what I can control is knowing my stuff, being a good cast mate for either a sock that is Tweety Bird, or my live, interacting cast mates. I don't want to think in larger terms than what my duties are because sometimes you build expectations that can't be met.

So, for Dave to be able to reference Roger Rabbit and be like, “I love the way that they built the laws of the universe, seamlessly established the characters, elicited emotion from 2D animated characters. I want to use that as a template to make this movie. They did a lot of things right, a lot of things that I want to transition…” Again, I just spoke for him, but I think that's a way better question for him.

All I really was worried about was, “Am I giving everything I have every single day to this opportunity?” And I never once looked at the comparisons because I'm not going in an edit bay. I'm not doing VFX. If I can do my part well, the VFX people will have an easier time, the post people will have an easier time. I think those are perspectives that they should have.

FORTE: But it is hard. You cannot not think about Who Framed Roger Rabbit if you know you're doing a live-action hybrid animation thing.

CENA: Well, there’s not much between my ears every day.

FORTE: No, no, no. This is my own separate thought. His answer is great. There's nothing wrong. I'm just saying you step in, and it's a high bar. That's an incredible movie. And you're right, you can't think about that as you're making it. But the first time I read it, yeah, I definitely was like, “Oh, the good version of this could be, hopefully, something that's like Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” which is an insane movie.

I had watched that back when it came out, but I didn't see it until, like, a couple weeks ago again. It just happened to be on in this hotel room I was at, and God, it's so good. It's so good. And I feel so proud of the movie we've made, which is a totally separate thing, but it's hard not to at least a little bit.

Lana Condor Says 'Coyote vs. Acme' Is the Optimistic Movie We Need Right Now

"Failure is only failure if you let it be."

Will Forte drives a vehicle with Wile E. Coyote in the back in 'Coyote vs. Acme' image

This is like the classic underdog story, fighting back against a conglomerate, a corporation, and even though you made this a little while ago, it feels like the perfect time to be releasing this movie. What are you excited for people to see in this and experience?

CONDOR: I'm really, really excited for people, hopefully, to have a great takeaway of hope and of optimism. Literally, okay, guys, life is hard. We get that. Life is hard. In my opinion, an additionally hard choice is to wake up every day and try again. That takes so much effort. It takes so much effort to wake up and try, try again after failure, after failure, after failure, like Wile E. It just goes to show the fortitude of Wile E. that he does get up every day, and he tries and tries and tries again. I think right now, in today's culture, I think there's never been a better time to have a film that has that messaging of hope and optimism. Failure is only failure if you let it be. I hope people take that away.

And ultimately, it's a great time. The rewatchability of this film is phenomenal. I did the rewatch test because I wanted to know, and I picked up so many other details that I totally missed on my first time around. So, I also think the rewatchability of this is great, and I think that hopefully it will become a comfort movie for people, that it will become a film that people can turn to when they need a little bit of hope.

I love the trailer and how it's leaning into “the movie that Acme doesn't want you to see.” Obviously, it’s a play on what's going on. The trailer’s fantastic. What was your reaction when you saw that marketing? Because it's a brilliant way to lean into it.

FORTE: I think it's really fun. You have to acknowledge it. I mean, it happened, and I think it's a really fun way to play with that. Ultimately, despite the roller coaster ride, everything happens for a reason, and it might be because of what happened to it that more people know about the movie, because of this insane story. So, maybe we should be thanking them for this. I guess time will tell.

I'm just excited because this movie is so special. It's got a little bit of everything. Somehow, even a little emotional resonance — a lot, which you don't expect. I didn’t even clock how much until I got to see it. But it's just alive from the second it starts to the moment that the credits start rolling. It is. Dave Green just…

CONDOR: Killed it.

FORTE: …peppered this thing with amazingness.

CENA: I think the trailer is clever because if you don't know anything about the business side of the movie, it still makes sense. The movie is about the Acme Corporation keeping the cartoons in a certain lane. You don't have to know anything about the fiscal backstory of the movie or its journey for the marketing to make sense, which I love.

In this movie, Coyote vs. Acme, you don't have to know the history of Looney Tunes. If you grew up and you’re our age, then it's great. This is inside baseball.

FORTE: And your late 30s.

CENA: Yeah, of course. There’s inside baseball. There's appreciation for the foundation that the Looney Tunes had. But if you're a first-time watcher, you don't know anything. It's just like the marketing: “The movie Acme doesn't want you to see.” As an Acme character, I wouldn't want you to see the movie either.

So, you can watch this movie and not have to be concerned with the backstory of the characters. It is just a good ride, and if you want to dig deep and go down a Looney Tunes rabbit hole, so to speak, you can learn more about the characters. But it's still a good watch, regardless, from opening frame to credits. If I know nothing about Looney Tunes, I take a good ride, and that's why I think the marketing is clever. Because to people in the know, it's like, “Oh, I want to join the conversation.” To people who aren't in the know, it explains the film. It's really good marketing.

Coyote vs. Acme opens in theaters on August 28.