While most of the focus on Gore Verbinski’s upcoming full-length adaptation of The Lone Ranger has focused on Johnny Depp’s pasty-faced and eccentric take on the sidekick character of Tonto, news broke this week that another pale, oddball artist will be bringing his weirdness to The Lone Ranger—former White Stripes frontman Jack White.
When pictures first emerged of Johnny Depp on the set of The Lone Ranger as the titular heroe’s longtime sidekick, Tonto, the general internet reaction was, “why the hell is Marilyn Manson in a western…and more importantly, why is a bird sitting on his head?“ Well, the eccentric actor has now spoken out, explaining the meaning of his mysterious Tonto getup.
After all the production difficulties and delays, it’s still a surprise to know that Gore Verbinski‘s The Lone Ranger is actually shooting. But now there’s evidence that it’s going forward, and it comes in a picture taken on set with Johnny Depp in his costume for the film. He’s playing Tonto, and they’re in the midst of filming.
Curious as to how Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer look in the upcoming cinematic adaptation of The Lone Ranger? Well, you’re in luck, as producer Jerry Bruckheimer, taking a break from producing his dazzlingly horrible roster of films, tweeted an image featuring Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Depp as his Native American sidekick, Tonto. Check out the image below!
For a while there The Lone Ranger looked DOA, but today it’s actually in production. In fact, it’s shooting right now. Though the film reunited the Pirates of the Caribbean creative team of Johnny Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, (now Academy Award winning) director Gore Verbinski and writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio with Disney, it looked to be too expensive for their tastes, and they passed. But budgets were shuffled and now they’re going forward for a May 31, 2013 release.
Last we reported, Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp‘s take on The Lone Ranger was put out to pasture because of concerns of a huge budget. Now Deadline Hollywood is reporting that the film has finally got a contained budget and is going to try to start shooting in 2012, with an official announcement due next week.
Gore Verbinski. Johnny Depp. Armie Hammer. The writers of the original Pirates of the Caribbean. Jerry Bruckheimer. Depp as Tonto. How could The Lone Ranger go astray? And yet the Walt Disney company has decided to pass on this title, citing a budget that was guestimated at $230 Million. Those numbers sound astronomical, but in context, Warner Brothers spent a supposed $200 on The Green Lantern. What could make a western so expensive? Werewolves, according to Jeff Wells. The film was going to be a special effects bonanza.
The Wrap is reporting that Ryan Gosling is in the room for the Gore Verbinski/Johnny Depp version of The Lone Ranger. Depp would play Tonto to Gosling’s white knight of a cowboy. At the same time they are noting that Gosling’s schedule as of now is in conflict with doing the picture. Which makes the likelihood of him doing it all the more questionable.
Over the year, we can expect to see Johnny Depp in two highly anticipated films, Rango and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, but there’s more where that came from. Depp will also appear in Disney’s big screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger, which they’re simply calling Lone Ranger, as Tonto. The actor recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about his character and the changes they’ve made to flesh him out.
