The Lone(lier) Ranger

Despite the stupendous profit gained from their recent string of hits in collaboration with mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Disney has shelved the long in development The Lone Ranger. On paper, Ranger seemed a sure bet with a bankable directing choice in Pirates trilogy’s Gore Verbinski, plus a cast that included the world’s most bankable star, Johnny Depp (as side-kick Tonto) alongside Armie Hammer (The Social Network) in the title role; Helena Bonham Carter and recent western graduate Barry Pepper. Add to that, ‘Goldfinger’ himself – Bruckheimer – as producer, you had all the ingredients for a sure summer winner, right?

According to the House of Mouse, no.

As reported earlier, a release date of summer 2012 proved too frightening when facing-off against other studio tent-poles including Warner Bros’ Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Paramount’s Brad Pitt starring zombie-apocalypse drama/thriller/comedy, World War Z. As stiff as the competition is, it’s surprising that Disney were the first to fold.

According to Garth at Dark Horizons, a $US250 million dollar price-tag proved to be $50 million more than the studio was willing to part with. Although not officially canning the project, such a bold move will, no doubt, not go unpunished with Bruckheimer and Depp both expected to depart from any future incarnations of the western-tale leaving Disney to start at the drawing board.

The Lone Ranger now joins a list that includes other Disney shelved prospects; the 3D remake of Yellow Submarine and Who Discovered Roger Rabbit. Both of which had director Robert Zemeckis attached (Zemeckis having directed the original Roger Rabbit film) and both of which had escalating budgets with little guarantee on return. Zemeckis had recently produced the Disney financed Mars Needs Moms that bombed at the box office making a worldwide gross to-date of $US39 million from a cost of $US150 Million (pre-marketing) further influencing their decision not to touch The Beatles’ animated classic.

While this isn’t the first case of a Johnny Depp vehicle failing to take off – anyone who’s seen Lost in La Mancha, chronicling Terry Gilliams’ heart-breaking attempt to bring The Man who Killed Don Quixote to the big screen can attest there is no such thing as the curse of Johnny Depp – rather an unfortunate case of interference from the forces of nature as opposed to the force of studios.

What this does tell us is that if this were a game of poker; it takes more than a Full House for the mouse to raise the stakes.