For the last few months, Warner has actively been trying to find ways it can make more money out of its classic Looney Tunes characters, and has even started developing a live-action/CG movie that will feature Bugs, Daffy and the rest of the gang, as well as another based around Pepe Le Pew.
Now it seems they’ve found a different, slightly more tangential way to make use of the Looneys, picking up an original pitch by Kevin and Dan Hageman called ACME Warehouse. ACME is, of course, the company that made all the products Wile E. Coyote bought to try and capture Roadrunner, and pretty much if any Looney Tunes character needed something, it would be ACME branded. The company, and its founder, also played a major role in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
THR doesn’t have too much info on the plot of the planned picture, but it seems the studio sees it as a chance ‘to build a franchise out of the Warners-owned property’, using many of the outlandish devices seen in the cartoons, although the movie itself won’t feature any of the classic Looney Tunes characters, just ACME and its warehouse. Presumably the idea is to build a franchise where problems can only be solved using the strange and bizarre products ACME is known for.
At the moment things are in the very early stages, so there’s no news on when it might go into production, but with Warner currently keen on everything Looney Tunes and with the potential for a franchise, don’t be surprised if this is put on the fast-track.