Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he wants to call for a federal investigation of Warner Bros. and how it handled Coyote vs. Acme.


The San Antonio Democrat poster, “The WBD tactic of scrapping fully made films for tax breaks is predatory and anti-competitive.”

“As the Justice Department and @FTC revise their antitrust guidelines they should review this conduct. As someone remarked, it’s like burning down a building for the insurance money,” the post continued.

Coyote vs. Acme and antitrust issues

Warner Bros. Discovery has backtracked on its decision to shelve the film and take the tax write-off. Coyote vs. Acme has now been allowed to be shopped around to different studios. However, the company still had two movies, Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, canceled early this year.

Castro has previously spoken about antitrust issues in the media and entertainment industry. When Discovery merged with AT&T's Warner Media, the congressman asked wrote a letter to the Department of Justice saying the merger would enable WBD to “adopt potentially anticompetitive practices, ” which would include “product cancellations.”

Related NewsArticle continues below
Baltimore Orioles Adley Rutschman
2-time All-Star gives glowing review of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Deion Sanders Colorado Football spring game
Deion Sanders lands new documentary series at Netflix
Former HBCU student athlete Xavier Mills has a major starring role in Netflix's hit show "Forever", which was renewed for a Season 2.
Former HBCU athlete makes major appearance in Netflix’s ‘Forever’

This is exactly what happened with Batgirl. Warner Bros. Discovery cancelled the $90-million dollar movie for the tax write-off.

The April 7 letter was signed by Castro, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-RI) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

They wrote in the letter, “The damage to content creators whose projects are cancelled in deep development and post-production cannot be overstated. Such cancellations stain these projects, making them less appealing and marketable to other buyers — consumers will likely never be able to watch shows purchased then cancelled by WBD. WBD’s conduct amounts to a de facto ‘catch and kill' practice, vastly limiting consumer choice.”

The call for a federal investigation is the latest development in Coyote vs. Acme saga. The movie has now become Hollywood's most-talked about movie due to Warner Bros. initial decision to shelve the project.