Looney Tunes Fans Are Rallying to Save Another Shelved Warner Bros. Musical

Warner Bros.’ history of shelving finished or nearly finished animated projects has become one of the more frustrating storylines in recent Hollywood memory. Between tax write-offs and sudden cancellations, fans have watched multiple beloved franchises lose completed work seemingly overnight, with little explanation from the studio.

That frustration reached a boiling point this past weekend, as ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ finally proved that public pressure and persistence really can bring a shelved project back from the dead. Its successful theatrical debut has reignited hope among fans that other abandoned Warner Bros. animated projects might deserve the same second chance.

One of those projects is ‘Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical,’ which was reportedly canceled after being worked on as recently as 2024. Character designer Dave Alvarez has spoken out about the project, revealing it featured musical performances by Eric Bauza, and is now calling on fans to help save the film.

‘Bye Bye Bunny’ was originally set to premiere on HBO Max before losing its slot and eventually being retooled into a full musical. The story reportedly centered on Bugs Bunny stepping away from the spotlight after a long-running Looney Tunes Broadway run, leaving Daffy Duck to seize the opportunity to take center stage instead.

The film’s musical pedigree was notably strong behind the scenes, with a screenplay and lyrics from Emmy winner Ariel Dumas of ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’ alongside music and orchestration from Pulitzer Prize, Tony, and Grammy winner Tom Kitt, known for ‘Next to Normal.’ Eric Bauza, who went on to voice Wile E. Coyote in ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ had reportedly booked both Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny for the project after a singing audition.

Development on ‘Bye Bye Bunny’ had continued in some form as late as February 2023, when head of story Michael Herrera wrapped his work on the film, before the project was ultimately confirmed canceled in August 2024. Character designer Dave Alvarez has previously said the film’s redesigned characters were intended to pay homage to Chuck Jones’ style of animation from the latter half of the 1950s through the 1960s.

Bauza himself has expressed optimism about the project’s future, previously noting that he’d love the chance to contribute a new song to the franchise if the film ever moved forward again. His comments echoed similar sentiments he’d shared about ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ before that film found its own path back to theaters through Ketchup Entertainment.

With ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ now serving as proof that fan campaigns and persistence can actually work, the timing of this renewed push for ‘Bye Bye Bunny’ feels far from coincidental. Whether Warner Bros. or another distributor ultimately decides to revisit the shelved musical remains to be seen, but the online momentum behind saving it is clearly building.

For a studio that’s already watched one canceled Looney Tunes project turn into an unlikely box office success story, reviving ‘Bye Bye Bunny’ might not be as far-fetched as it once seemed. Given how invested fans already are in seeing Looney Tunes characters thrive again, this could be the next test of just how far that goodwill extends.

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