The Lone Ranger

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/38486

So If Depp Is Tonto, Who Might Be THE LONE RANGER??

Merrick here...


Electric Dreams has been an AICN source for some time, and has provided some substantive/impressive material in the past.

He dropped us a line to follow-up on his report from yesterday's Disney pep rally at the Kodak theater in L.A. (find it HERE).

Following the reveal that Johnny Depp would play Tonto (THE LONE RANGER's faithful Native American cohort), it was natural to ask who might portray the titular masked rider against injustice in the Old West.

Here's what Electric Dreams had to say:

Word as of now is that George Clooney has shown a lot of interest in the role of the Lone Ranger, and the studio's been talking to him about it. Previously it was rumored that Nic Cage was up for the role, but that rumor died a long time ago. Clooney's name has come up quite a number of times since.

Electric Dreams

 

[TheComicbookKid]

And I'm out!

George Clooney? Really? What is supposed to be the tone of this movie?

 

[Dark Donnie]

Could George Clooney Be The Lone Ranger?
Posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 at 11:27 pm by: Peter Sciretta



On Wednesday, Disney announced that they had signed Johnny Depp to play Tonto in a big screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger. But who is going to be playing the masked ranger? AICN’s sources claim that George Clooney has shown a lot of interest in the role. Clooney is a fantastic actor, but something about him as The Lone Ranger doesn’t rub me right. Don’t get me wrong, he’s certainly a better choice than Nicolas Cage, who was once up for the role.

Saw that over at /Film as well.

 

[Philly Phanboy]

So the execs over at Disney are spending the money they earned from the PoTC movies to buy drugs? First Beverly Hills Chihuahua and now they want Clooney and Depp to play cowboys and indians?

Somebody needs to do some serious house cleaning over at Disney and then move on to making an adaptation of Gargoyles which would be a guaranteed money maker.

 

[Hunter Rider]

So the execs over at Disney are spending the money they earned from the PoTC movies to buy drugs? First Beverly Hills Chihuahua and now they want Clooney and Depp to play cowboys and indians?

Somebody needs to do some serious house cleaning over at Disney and then move on to making an adaptation of Gargoyles which would be a guaranteed money maker.

An obscure cartoon is better business than an action/adventure western based on a famous duo played by two of the biggest movie stars in the world ? I hope this isn't about them not casting some nobody as Tonto.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Clooney is interesting but not ideal

Hed be a cool bad guy or a good director for the project. He was at one point up for Kevin Smiths Green Hornet (Brit Reid) which is a relative of The Lone Ranger (John Reid).

They arnt holding back on the star power but I cant help thinking there are better options.

 

[Philly Phanboy]

An obscure cartoon is better business than an action/adventure western based on a famous duo played by two of the biggest movie stars in the world ? I hope this isn't about them not casting some nobody as Tonto.

Look at the crap Disney is trying to build franchises around and tell me that Gargoyles wouldn't be a better idea. Heck even bringing Clooney and Depp on for Gargoyles wouldn't be a bad idea.

They tried to resuscitate Lone Ranger in '81 and again on TV in 2003 with no luck. The Lone Ranger is a lame duck franchise to begin with and these casting rumors are just silly. Having Clooney as the Lone Ranger and Depp (who is there because of his PoTC ties and NOT because of his minute fraction of Native American heritage) as Tonto screams of desperation.

I'd suggest they move on to something fresh that contemporary audiences would be interested in.

 

[Cmill216]

IMO, I like the idea of The Lone Ranger. The western is a genre in hibernation, though we've seen signs of life with 3:10 to Yuma and the Deadwood TV series. I'd totally go see a 2000s action-oriented western gunslinger film if the casting is there and the people involved are respectable.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Look at the crap Disney is trying to build franchises around and tell me that Gargoyles wouldn't be a better idea. Heck even bringing Clooney and Depp on for Gargoyles wouldn't be a bad idea.

They tried to resuscitate Lone Ranger in '81 and again on TV in 2003 with no luck. The Lone Ranger is a lame duck franchise to begin with and these casting rumors are just silly. Having Clooney as the Lone Ranger and Depp (who is there because of his PoTC ties and NOT because of his minute fraction of Native American heritage) as Tonto screams of desperation.

I'd suggest they move on to something fresh that contemporary audiences would be interested in.

Why would Gargoyles be a good idea ? It has no cache at all, it's basically a potential Hellboy success at best.

The Lone Ranger is iconic and like any character that has stood the best of time it just needs the right take to make it a hit again. Why does it scream of desperation to sign two big stars who fit the roles ?

Contemporary audiences love the older stuff as witnessed by the amount of time tested characters still doing big business on the big screen.

 

[Philly Phanboy]

Why would Gargoyles be a good idea ? It has no cache at all, it's basically a potential Hellboy success at best.

Your opinion not mine.

The Lone Ranger is iconic and like any character that has stood the best of time it just needs the right take to make it a hit again.

Iconic character or not there's only so much story they can milk out of a masked guy shooting guns out of people's hands with silver bullets and delivering one-liners.

Why does it scream of desperation to sign two big stars who fit the roles ?

If they were serious about building a franchise to begin with they would be out casting actors to fit the roles and not actors just for name recognition. Call me crazy but this project has Schumacher stunt casting written all over it. Just wait for the nipples on the Lone Ranger outfit.

Contemporary audiences love the older stuff as witnessed by the amount of time tested characters still doing big business on the big screen.

The demand wasn't there for the '81 or 2003 incarnations of the Lone Ranger so what makes you think that this time will work?

 

[Hunter Rider]

Your opinion not mine.

I don't see how opinion comes into it, clearly you were a big fan of the show but there is no denying it is obscure and unlikely to cause much of a buzz.

Iconic character or not there's only so much story they can milk out of a masked guy shooting guns out of people's hands with silver bullets and delivering one-liners.

You could say that about Batman or Bond etc..

If they were serious about building a franchise to begin with they would be out casting actors to fit the roles and not actors just for name recognition. Call me crazy but this project has Schumacher stunt casting written all over it. Just wait for the nipples on the Lone Ranger outfit.

They are casting actors that fit the roles though so i don't see the argument.

The demand wasn't there for the '81 or 2003 incarnations of the Lone Ranger so what makes you think that this time will work?

Like i said above, get the right take on a classic and it will work, clearly the other takes were not effective in capturing the essence.

 

[cryptic name]

i'm down for this. clooney could be a good all american masked hero (not batman) and the casting of depp is weird, but interesting

 

[rogue trooper]

I'm not too sure about Clooney, to be frank. For John Reid I think we need a more Christian Bale/Hugh Jackman-type. But that's me. I do think Clooney could be an excellent Butch Cavendish.

1000 posts!!!

 

[Kent Allard]

They tried to resuscitate Lone Ranger in '81 and again on TV in 2003 with no luck.

I'm not sure all that many people knew about the 2003 tv movie that ran on the WB [I sure didn't until last year] and even the ones that did manage to see it generally all agree it was terrible. For awhile about 10 minutes of the WB tv movie was on Youtube, definitely pretty bad stuff. WB made a lot of silly and unnecessary changes to the characters & mythos. WB even had Tonto doing Kung Fu!

As for 1981's The Legend of the Lone Ranger - from everything I've read it was also a mediocre adaptation [better than 2003's but not what it should have been]. What probably hurt the film the most was the stupid lawsuit against Clayton Moore because Moore made his public appearances in a LR style mask [something he'd done for years]. It probably didn't help any that Klinton Spilsbury's [the actor who played John Reid/the Lone Ranger] dialogue was dubbed over by another actor. Also, I understand that the Lone Ranger doesn't even appear until late into the movie. [Would you be satisfied waiting until 2/3 the way into a movie before Bruce Wayne donned the Batman costume?]

Also for unknown reasons, the producers/director of the 1981 movie chose to make the Lone Ranger a terrible shot. The Lone Ranger doesn't use silver bullets as a symbol [as he originally did in the radio & tv series] but rather because he can't shoot straight otherwise.

 

[Philly Phanboy]

WB even had Tonto doing Kung Fu!

Chuck Norris is half Cherokee, maybe they could invite him for this version.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Chuck Norris is half Cherokee, maybe they could invite him for this version.

The whole Depp as Tonto thing really is your beef isn't it Philly ?

 

[Julio Alejandro]

So, I just read that Clooney is in fact confirmed.

 

[Sawyer]

This movie is gonna be the Speed Racer of 2020/2011. Basically everyone will absoluely love it or hate it with a passion.

I'm pretty sure I'll be the latter.

 

[Jochimus]

Eh. Depp has proven himself prolific, and I think Clooney has wised up considerably since Buttman - and yeah, he's definitely a step up from Cage. The script could basically be little more than "Batman Begins Without Electricity" and it'll still open strong.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I'm all for the Depp-meister, but this is Bruckheimer movie, i.e. the wrong place for him.

No, Tonto NEEDS TO BE MARC DASCASCOS! Check him out in the masterpiece Brotherhood of the Wolf. He kicks so much ass you wouldn't even need a Lone Ranger.

 

[cerealkiller182]

good call

 

[Sawyer]

I wonder who Disney is considering for director...

 

[C. W. Saturn]

You know, they could make a modern adaption of the Lone Ranger, who uses a talking car instead of a horse and... oh... nevermind

 

[cerealkiller182]

isnt that just THe Green Hornet

 

[scifiwolf]

If this movie has a good balance of humor, drama, and action, with a good script, it could turn out like 1998's Mask of Zorro, which was very good.