Production on the upcoming The Lone Ranger movie has hit a snag with Disney pulling the plug to the surprise of many. Johnny Depp who’s set to star as the character Tonto, has spearheaded the movie into development and most of the cast were signed – including Armie Hammer as the titular character and Tom Wilkinson as a railroad tycoon.
The synopsis of the story has Armie as the young Texas Ranger who’s left for dead by a ruthless gang. Tonto helps him recover from the wounds, teaches him a few tricks and together they return as the masked avenger and faithful companion to right wrongs and fight injustice – you get the drift.
The snafu is over money, Disney may’ve made a bundle off the fourth Pirates but are weary to sink $250 million into a nostalgia flick. Apparently the filmmakers have tried to bring the costs down and may just need to attract some more investors, either way the production start date was set for October and would reunite Depp with his original Pirates director Gore Verbinski.
The Lone Ranger is an iconic character that began as a radio serial in the early 1930’s, this new tale is meant to have a more off-beat tone, the combination of talents could be worth it, except Disney would prefer to shave $50 million of the price tag.
For now the brakes are on, but with Disney needing another Pirates movie soon, they’ll not want to mess with the Depp, else Captain Jack may never return.
via: Deadline
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