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EXCLUSIVE: Gore Verbinski is saddling up for a re-team with Johnny Depp on The Lone Ranger.
Verbinski, whose last live action film was 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, is getting serious about making his next directing outing The Lone Ranger, the Disney pic that has Jerry Bruckheimer producing with Depp playing Tonto.
No word on when the film will begin production–Depp has no shortage of offers and has in the offing a re-team with Tim Burton on Dark Shadows–and the idea of Verbinski possibly doing this has been in the ether. I’m told that Verbinski is looking around for the next job after completing his first animated film as a director in Rango, which Paramount Pictures distributes next year. Depp, of course, voiced the goggle-eyed title lizard. Verbinski’s repped by CAA.
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Has Disney forgotten the racial implications of having a white man assuming the role of a native American (not to mention the name Tonto literally means “stupid”)? And have they already forgotten the problems Paramount just had with casting a white kids in the title role of The Last Airbender? This is a bad idea all the way around.I hope this is a “spoofy” film, cause problems lie dead ahead!
Florida State University makes a mockery of Native Americans with a white boy painted up in war paint riding a horse around the stadium.
Ron, Florida State has the blessing of the Seminole tribe of Florida to use Chief Osceola and Renegade during all football games. In order to have the honor of being Chief Osceola, you have to be a member of the Seminole nation. Next time do some fact checking before writing things you have no understanding about.
Jim, I totally agree with you. Once again we see political correctness raise its head. We have a society of victims. In fact there should be a new social science, victimology. Every time we turn around we see or hear something about “hate speech” or someone being described as a “racist.” We need to get over that. Our history and our society aren’t perfect—never has been and will never be perfect. I believe Florida State University is celebrating the Seminole culture, one that means a great deal to Florida and its history.
You may be thinking of the “Chief Illiniwek” character that used to be the mascot of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UofI officially retired the character in March of 2007, following about 20 years of controversy.
i don’t know if you’ve lived under a rock the last decade, but doubters of a verbinski / depp / bruckheimer combo’s ability to revitalize a property do so at their own peril
Actually, among other ethnicities, Johnny Depp has stated to have Cherokee ancestry in his bloodline.
There’s a lot of people who wonder why he isn’t playing The Lone Ranger instead of Tonto due to his leading man status. Thing of it is, I don’t think they’ll regard Tonto really as The Lone Ranger’s sidekick. More like a best friend/brother-type/partner in preserving and upholding justice.
Depp is small part Cherokee.
And large part Box Office Gold.
So this seems like perfect casting to me.
Depp is part Cherokee indian, on both sides of his family IIRC.
For your information Mr. Depp has a heritage of cherokee which he is very proud of. He even directed and starred in a movie about a native american family called “The Brave”. Johnny is a perfect choice to play Tonto…
Have you been away? Johnny has a Cherokee grandmother, and Tonto does not mean and never did mean ‘stupid’ – urban legend!
Too great talents and THIS is what they want to do?
Ugh.
people said that about the lame, cheesy pirates of the caribbean ride at disneyland. no way you can make a cool movie with that. ugh.
I believe you mean “two” great talents. And when they apply their creative powers to an already solid character and story, they’re going to create a piece of art that’s also some fantastic entertainment.
Dear Seriously?,
Do you seriously think “two” is spelled “too” or are you not being serious?
sincerely,
Yahoo Seriously, son of Johnny Dangerously and the number too fan of Mr. Jack Depp
Johnny Depp for Tonto, Josh Brolin for the Lone Ranger.
And Jon Hamm as The Lone Ranger! That role is perfect for him.
Ya dude Jon Hamm would be perfect!!
Absolutely ridiculous and a complete waste of time. So much for progressive Hollywood. Under newly installed Rich Ross, this will inevitably be a safe action-comedy. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t want the “Rush Hour 2″ version of “The Lone Ranger.”
after your attempt to compare gore verbinski to brett ratner, i am laughing so hard it’s difficult to type. by the way if you try to eat tonight, try to remember that food goes in your mouth.
Regarding “racial political correctness”, unless I am mistaken, Mr. Depp has Native American blood, Cherokee, I believe.
A brief reminder…the Art is called Acting.
You may be amazed to know that Morgan Freeman is not actually God.
Boy, that rango cartoon looks terrible. Why would you hire Johnny Depp and then make him into as unappealing design as possible? Fail.
Johnny is of Native American decent. His grandparents were Native American.
It would be super cool (actually almost super uncool that you didn’t) if you were to mention that this again puts Depp and GV on a project penned by Terri Rossio and Ted Elliot.
No pirate magic, no Lone Ranger magic, and probably neither Gore or Johnny being at the top of thier respective heaps without the damn fine material that only those two writers could have created for either of these projects.
The Lone Ranger will rock, and no doubt Depp and Verbinski will bring the heat, but Rossio and Elliot provide the platform that they both stand upon. And they are both damn nice guys.
Johnny is Native American and it makes my blood boil when people make stupid comments about Black V’s White by trying to stir up a hornets nest instead of seeing us all as one. Who cares who play what as long as they are right for the part that’s what counts. I am really happy that Depp and Gore will work together again.
Um. @Seriously it’s two, as in the number, not too as in too many people without elementary grammar school educations post comments on here. Get in the business or too Idaho.
The RANGO trailer is great!
Johnny Depp:
Don’t you have enough money? You used to be a serious actor who took very quirky roles and hung around with people like Hunter S. Thompson. You live in France, ferchrissakes! And yet you’re now starring in at least 2 huge bland blockbuster “star vehicles” pretty much each year.
Do you need another $30-$40 million when you’ll make that (or double that?) on the next Pirates movie and you probably just made it on Alice in Wonderland and you made at least $20 mil on that Michael Mann gangster movie and you’ll probably make at least that on on The Tourist?
Life’s too short. Go back to doing something people will actually care about in ten years.
Former fan.
To me, even more puzzling than the idea of casting Johnny Depp as Tonto (which might actually be funny) is the whole notion of resurrecting The Lone Ranger.
I don’t see what it is about that old series that will appeal to moviegoers today. A guy in a mask riding a white horse and charging around shouting “Hi-yo Silver!” just strikes me as a non-starter.
Then again, I the pirate movie was pretty much dead up until Pirates of the Caribbean came along. But even then, I think it was the clever addition of supernatural elements that made that franchise take off. That, and Depp’s bizarre and magical interpretation of the Jack Sparrow character.
But I doubt that will work twice.
Oh my god, I can already hear native Americans screaming (and justifiably so; think of Depp playing an oriental or another racial group. It would be the same). Times have changed, and I think Disney & Depp better catch up on current events of the last two decades. Does Disney really want to go this route? Does Depp realize what toes he’s stepping on?
I’m just going to sit back and watch this play out… no doubt, if Depp takes the part, it’s gonna get REALLY interesting.
Yer damn right, Jon, times have changed!
That’s why you don’t say “Oriental” any more in regards to an Asian person’s ethnicity.
Been considered insulting for about two decades now.
You just got served. Which is another topical reference and shows how hip and ‘with the times’ I am.
I loved the Lone Ranger as a kid. Clayton Moore was the bomb.
I think this could work, with the right actors.
Johnny depp has cherokee in his blood -his granfather was full bloodied cherokee -that makes him perfect to play an indian role in my book and last time i heard johnny was gonna play tonto totally differently not playing him as the original “stupid indian type”
Give them a chance to see what they’ll do before writing this off -
They are indeed great talents and I sincerely doubt that either would participate in some embarrassing re-tread. Not to be overlooked,
Depp is part Native American and has respect for that heritage.
Johnny is 1/4 Cherokee, if that makes anyone feel better. And this isn’t going to be a “spoofy” film from what I’ve heard. Has Depp played a character that didn’t get the last laugh in the last 10 years? I’d like to think he wouldn’t play a Native American that was the butt end of racist jokes, he seems to take pride in that part of his heritage. Here’s hoping.
Everyone spouting off about Depp being one-quarter or one-eight or 13.7% Cherokee once-removed on his uncle’s side need to get a grip.
Who gives a rat’s ass what his family tree looks like?!
He is a WHITE ACTOR who is recognized as a WHITE ACTOR by audiences who have lined his pockets paying to see him play WHITE CHARACTERS! Dissecting his family tree doesn’t change this statement.
That’s the important part of this discussion, whether you agree with the wisdom of the casting choice or not…honestly this “well his grandaddy is blah-blah Cherokee” is pure crap.
Denzel or Will Smith probably have some “white blood” in them as well, how relevant is that to the roles audiences buy them in?
Johnny Depp has already played a Native American character before in a movie he driected himself called ‘The Brave’ in 1997. He has also played Italian American and Cuban, which he certainly is not.
Denzel or Smith having ‘white blood’ somewhere down their generational line and playing a white character is obviously worlds difference from Depp playing a Native character when his Indian heritage is much more immediate, not to mention he looks mixed race as well.
Interesting that Depp is “part” Indian and considered “white” and our President is “part” white and considered “black” — OMG! My head hurts! Paul Newman played an Native American and was “part” Jewish!
Marianne Pearl is more than 1/2 caucasian, but people went crazy when “white” Angelina Jolie played her. So, if that is the case, why is it OK if a person has “some Native American” in them, but identify themselves as white, is it OK for them to be a full person of color, but if a person is part person of color, and part white, it is not OK for a white person to do the role? I also have Cherokee in my heritage, some caucasian as well, but ID myself as black because that is the majority. So, I could play Tonto, since I am also part Native American. Sometimes it is better to not have to get into these arguments when there are perfectly good Native American actors who could do the part. Not as high profile as Depp, but still good actors. Just a thought.
I love the odd resemblance of Rango to Dr Hunter S Thompson himself… and is that the Shark I see? Cut Depp some slack–whatever he does he makes his own, and it seems more than likely that Tonto WILL be the lead character and the story won’t resemble the cheesy racist TV show (well, cheesy it may be, but in a good way). Would I like to see Depp in films like Dead Man and Ed Wood again? Absolutely yes, but do I blame him for taking $50M for doing something he enjoys and bringing great entertainment to us all? No. Everyone has an opinion about what Johnny should do, but he will go his own way as always. Besides, I have high hopes for the Rum Diary and the forthcoming collaboration with Emir Kusterica in terms of art.
Get a grip…if its a good script and Johnny Depp can portray an interesting character then it will be cool. Remember “Pirates”? The word of mouth was that it wasn’t good and it became a box office phenomena because of Depp’s performance. If Depp’s part Cherokee…that makes it all the more credible for him to explore his craft in this role. Sounds pretty cool…now its up to Gore Verbinski to tell an interesting story with the screenplay.
It was my understanding that Mr. Depp has been anticipating this role for years now. (Also, I agree with PP that he will make this role a starring one). In fact, rumor has it that he was rather put out that Pirates 4 took precedence. I have faith that Mr. Depp has enough integrity to portray his role in such a fashion that he will brook no insult to the Native American people of any nation.