Depp's 'The Lone Ranger' May Not Ride Again

In a shocking move, Disney has halted production on what many would look at as a sure thing. The plug has been pulled on the Johnny Depp starrer "The Lone Ranger." The story is that production was shut down because of the budget. Disney is concerned about laying out over $200 million to make a Western.

The budget for "The Lone Ranger" was set at anywhere between $275 million and $250 million. Disney had asked filmmakers to get the budget down to $232 million. Apparently, things weren't going in the direction Disney wanted to see them going.

With the talent attached to "The Lone Ranger," it really comes as no surprise that the budget was so large. You have director Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "Rango"), producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"), and Johnny Depp ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "Alice in Wonderland"). They all come with hefty price tags.

I can completely understand Disney's weariness in wanting to spend over $200 million on a Western right now. First, the latest Western-themed film released was "Cowboys & Aliens" a couple of weeks ago. The film is not doing so hot at the box office. It's struggling to make back it's budget even with an A-rated cast including Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, and Sam Rockwell. Granted, a mix of science fiction and western genres might not be the best judge of how a traditional western would be taken in by an audience right now. It still reflects to an extent how open people are right now to the concept.

Getting a good reception for The Lone Ranger on the big-screen has never been easy for a studio. The last adaptation attempted was "The Legend of the Lone Ranger." The movie starred Christopher Lloyd and Jason Robards and was released in 1981 through Universal Pictures. It didn't make its budget of $18 million back. Moviegoers just weren't interested in seeing the masked hero onscreen.

The premise of "The Lone Ranger" tells the story of "six Texas Rangers [who] are ambushed by a band of outlaws led by Butch Cavendish. Later, a Native American named Tonto stumbles on the scene and recognizes the lone survivor, Reid, as the man who had saved his life some time in the past. He nurses Reid back to health. The two men dig six graves for Reid's comrades, among them Reid's brother. Reid fashions a black mask using material from his brother's vest to conceal his identity, so that Cavendish will think there were no survivors. Even after the Cavendish gang is brought to justice, Reid continues to fight evil under the guise of the Lone Ranger."

"The Lone Ranger" was created in 1933 for a radio show by station owner George W. Trendle or Fran Striker, the show's writer. It was so successful as a radio show that it was brought to television as a series and ran from 1949 to 1957. There were a couple of film serials based on the character as well. Comic book versions of the character have also been published over the years.

The new version of "The Lone Ranger" was to have a comedic edge to it. I don't know if that is such a good idea, but who's going to argue with Depp or Bruckheimer. It already had booked a few stars for its cast. They included Armie Hammer ("The Social Network," "Flicka") as the title character and Ruth Wilson ("Luther"). Depp was going to play The Lone Ranger's Indian sidekick, Tonto.

For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:

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Essential 'Captain America' Books to Get You Acquainted with the Hero
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