The Lone Ranger, originally planned for a 2012 holiday release, has seen several production delays, and came within a hair of being canceled completely several times, but filming is finished, and post-production is far enough along that Disney was able to put out this great teaser:
In this film from Jerry Bruckheimer, we’re getting a new version of the Lone Ranger story. Of course, as with any story, re-adapting it for a modern audience means modern themes, so it’s no surprise that the film is about the corruption of big business, and the defense of the working-class, which is something of a divergence from the original Lone Ranger, which was more about fighting brazen, black-hatted outlaws.
The core of the original story is that a Texas Ranger, who everyone thinks was killed in a gunfight, puts on a simple mask and fights crime along with a Native companion whom he had once saved the life of. How much of that core carries over here we’re not sure. The new synopsis only points out that Tonto, the Native companion, will be the point-of-view character:
Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.
It looks like a lot of the effects and fights scenes will be pretty impressive, along with very colorful costumes and period set-pieces. Expect some great one-liners, especially from Depp, and lots and lots of slow-motion gun-fighting.
It especially looks impressive considering how dreadfully the budget for the film was slashed, being cut nearly in half from the original estimate twice since development began. When Cowboys & Aliens had a surprisingly low opening weekend, Walt Disney had to take a close, hard look at whether there was a place in their house for a fantasy cowboy story. The film finally hit stable ground in January of this year, and the primary photography seems to have gone smoothly.
The Lone Ranger will hit theaters sometime in Summer 2013.
