There was little doubt that Disney was going to jump into bed with Johnny Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and director Gore Verbinski (who directed Depp in the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies and Rango) again on Lone Ranger, even though Disney is wary about sinking so dough into a western that was originally projected to cost well over $250 million dollars. Disney originally shut production down in August, demanding that the budget be brought down to under $200 million, but more-or-less everyone expected the two sides to come terms eventually.
“Eventually” seems to be today, as Deadline reports that the film, now budgeted at a compromise budget of $215 million, is a go. Trims were made by having the three principals involved cut down their fees and a rework of the script to eliminate some of the more expensive effects and set pieces.
That’s probably good news for Disney, I guess, but there’s a dark cloud here. According to Box Office Mojo, no western has ever grossed $200 million dollars, and the more, well, effects-laden westerns (which Lone Ranger is expected to be) like Wild Wild West and Cowboys & Aliens have been box office disappointments. While Depp has sold a lot of movie tickets for Disney in the four Pirates films and Alice in Wonderland, he’ll be playing the sidekick role of Tonto to the relatively untested Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger. Then again, the pirate genre was thought to be dead and buried before Depp, Bruckheimer, and Verbinski revived it, so Disney could have high hopes.
Some seem to think the battles with Disney over Lone Ranger are over, but at the sake of using a well-worn cliche… I think the battle has only begun on this one. What do you think?
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