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BREAKING: Disney will release Lone Ranger on December 21, 2012, giving the studio a big holiday entry in a crowding field. The film, directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Armie Hammer as the title character and Johnny Depp as Tonto, takes place in 1869. A Texas Ranger, left for dead, is saved by the Comanche Tonto, who gives his new partner the masked identity of Lone Ranger. Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio wrote the script and Jerry Bruckheimer is producing. The film begins production later this year.
The holiday corridor of 2012 is getting more competitive. Warner Bros recently set a December 14, 2012 release date for the Peter Jackson-directed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and on December 21, the Ang Lee-directed Life of Pi opens against Universal’s untitled Judd Apatow film as well as Relativity Media’s Hunter-Killer. Of course, date shifting is allowed.
Coming off the success of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, this is the second major film dated by Disney in the past two weeks. The Sam Raimi-directed Oz: The Great and Powerful was set for March 8, 2013 release.
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One might hope this follows Silverado, Unforgiven, True Grit ( recent version) and other well done and well received westerns.
Truly, I hope this is not a typical Bruckheimer film which just moves the action and comedy to another landscape.
a bruckheimer film directed by verbinski is a verbinski film. a bruckheimer film directed by anyone else is a bruckheimer film. there’s a major difference.
Script is fun and creative team is top-notch. I’m stoked. My mom was obsessed with this show as a little girl, so I’m planning on seeing it with her. I bet this will be a fun new family franchise.
Your mom and my daughter’s mom. My all time favorite show. I still occasionally watch the DVDs and have often said my sense of rightness was formed from that show. I love Johnny Depp, too, so I’ll be there – bringing grandkids. And I’m not the only one – years ago I went to a Clayton Moore book signing, the line went out the door. It’s a top creative team so while I love the original this is great news.
Wait, so this is a little unclear. Does that mean the 21st now has Life of Pi, Apatow, Hunter Killer, and this big monster coming in? Looks like Ang Lee better get that 90 million dollar art movie outta there and into 2013, cause it seems like it is gonna need a clear path to get some traction.
Still waiting for Warner Bros. to announce the delay of release for the new “Superman” movie. After weekly casting news, it seems like the movie just disappeared.
Yeah, I know, Depp will pack the theater. But ugh! Johnny Depp as Tonto? Now we’re going to have a white-looking Tonto? That’s so disrespectful. So, Depp has some Native ancestry. Whoopee! So does Jimmy Carter and a lot of other white folks. Tonto has always been portrayed as a dark-skinned Native American and not a lighter-skinned mestizo. Will Disney go the red-face route or just have Tonto be mixed-race?
There are very few decent roles for Native Americans. Other than the Twilight films can anyone think of any other roles for Native Americans? Especially an iconic one like this?
It’s a shame to see casting like this.
Please tell me again about how liberal Hollywood is.
I wish I could come on Deadline for one day and not read some politically-correct moaning about casting.
The only Native American actor anybody knows is the guy that used to be on Law & Order: SVU. And even I can’t remember his name.
I’m pretty sure Johnny Depp would be more of a box-office draw than that guy.
Meanwhile, I question the need for a Lone Ranger movie at all. Like Tarzan, it’s a dated, vaguely racist concept in 2011. And the dilemma is if you PC it (as Disney/Bruckheimer are doing), it dilutes the original vision.
Make your own movie and cast who you want.
tarzan’s racist?
explain please?
Yes, Depp has Native American ancestry; he does not exactly look very Nordic.
Nick, is it because he doesn’t fit your rigid stereotype of how dark native peoples’ skin color should be, that this troubles you?
Perhaps we should start taking note and make sure only African Americans with very dark skin tones can take African American roles, right?
I think you are not liberal at all and your comments reveal your bigoted yet disguised intentions.
Johnny will be great as Tonto.
I completely understand your point of view and am not arguing it, but at the end of the day, if Johnny Depp wants to play Harriet Tubman, SOMEONE is going to say “Well, with his long hair and a little CGI…?”
And it’s not about the politics (Yes, Hollywood is VERY Liberal), it’s about the dollar and Depp brings many of those.
I think artists tend to forget that movies are a “business” and there is no business sense in casting a name no one knows for authenticity’s sake as opposed to a name the world knows for the revenue’s sake.
Hollywood is NOT very liberal.
Who lied to you and told you that Hollywood was liberal? That’s part of the propaganda machine that Tinseltown spews out…
Let’s see…da Director is a Caucasoid with not a history of dealing out of that category, the main character is a Caucasoid, the writers (i guess) are Caucasoid…but who knows maybe there were a few natives doing rewrites or whatever; the Depp boy (hey Man, love your work) is mostly Caucasoid, Jerry B. is Caucasoid – though he probably wish he was just a little more ethnic….
Hum-m-m, who’s doing the music? Surely there will be much tribal rhythms going down.
Anyway, please don’t spend a lot of time in protest lines, as the project is what it is: Mo’ Money, mo’ money, mo’ money, money, money….
I was looking forward to this until I heard Armie Hammer was the Lone Ranger.Hopefully they change that
Yes Hammer is very bland, but he is just there for Depp to goof off of. He won’t be tasked with bringing anything to the film, so it should be fine.
It opens on the day the Mayans say the world will end.
not a coincidence
I’ll go to the earliest screening that day and hope the flood waters don’t arrive until the evening.
A small point but it’s “Hi Yo Silver”, not “Hi Ho Silver”. Unless, of course, the Lone Ranger is secretly Mr. First Nighter.
Um, Isn’t December 21, 2012 the end date of the Mayan calendar? How will that affect box office? Didn’t lots of Christians stay home last month, anticipating their prophesied rapture?
Any movies opening on the NEW Rapture in October?
Setting this as early as 1869 is blunder. Remember the Lone Ranger iconically using silver bullets in his six-gun and occasionally presenting one of his famous silver cartridges to an admiring youth? The center-fire revolver cartridge didn’t become common until 1873 with the launch of Colt’s legendary Single Action Army revolver/Peacemaker in .45 caliber, just the gun the Ranger wears in his fancy double holster set. 1875 would be more appropriate for feature film’s setting, unless the Ranger’s going to shoot an old style Civil War-era cap-and-ball revolver (like Clint Eastwood uses in “The Outlaw Josey Wales”)– hence, no more trademark, silver bullets.
What year was artistic license invented? Good grief. Can’t wait for your feedback on the realistic portrayal of a shipwreck on Gilligan’s Island. When we finally make first contact with aliens, if they don’t like Reese’s Pieces it’s totally gonna ruin E.T. for you. This is nowhere near as egregious as the sloppy historical choices made on a movie like Pearl Harbor. Is it so hard to get CGI’d ships right when it’s pretty easy to look up their specs? Personally, I was already lost by the horrible dialogue, but I can see the point of history buffs, especially when the ships portrayed are ones on which people died. It was completely unnecessary to do what they did. The Lone Ranger on the other hand–and this is a tiny distinction–isn’t real. There’s enough suspension of disbelief to let this slide by. Unless it’s a more obviously modern thing like an AK-47, almost all of the audience is going to be paying no attention whatsoever to what year the weapon/bullets in question were invented. They’re gonna go ‘gee that gun looks old’ which is all they need to do for the purpose of this film. I understand where you’re coming from, but it simply doesn’t matter here.
Johnny Depp as Tonto?
… we’re still doing that?
Johnny Depp. Tonto. Ugh. I’ll pass.
More Hollywood white washing. Great fun for the whole family!
It’s “Hi Yo, Silver.”
I’m starting to think Johnny Depp is quietly turning into a one-trick-pony as an actor. Can’t he play something other than some cartoonish character? He was so good in Donnie Brasco, but since then it’s nothing but Disney characters and rehashing his Edward Scissorhands schtick.
Donnie Brasco is the only “real” person he has ever played.
And then it was someone pretending to be someone else.
He likes to play people who give a performance in a performance.
…It’s called acting.
Yes, and those are the movies that make all the money!
I hope the script is far better than those for the last three Bruckheimer movies. If there’s a treasure map divided into three pieces and they have to go find the other two I’m going to scream in the theater.
So, will this be filmed in Texas???? I hope so!
“It opens on the day the Mayans say the world will end.”
So that’s the way the world will end.
Not with a bang but a “Hi Ho Silver!”
Typical, Disney white-washes a Native American character all in the name of money.
From some of the comments I have read attributed to some of those involved in making this movie, I fear they intend to make a mockery of the Lone Ranger. If that is their aim, I would seriously urge Disney to reconsider. Remember what happened when earlier film-makers moved to take away Clayton Moore’s mask. Those, like myself, who know and love this character, and believe in the Lone Ranger Creed, will not take kindly to having our hero treated with disrespect. And, you can take THAT to the bank.
DEPP AS TONTO ????? Hollywood for the celebrity money draw. Why not Wes Studi as Tonto, a real american cherokee indian? He wes great in ‘The Last of the Mohigans’ really captured the ‘Magua’ look. There are so many real Native Americans that could have been cast as Tonto…Depp; just more hollywood BS greed, everyone will go to see Depp; no way, I’ll pass on this one.
The last I heard, the Lone Ranger actor had all the rights to the Lone Ranger character. This is what is stopping things, I think.