The Johnny Depp vehicle is on hold
Just before everyone cut loose for the weekend, Deadline broke the news that Disney was doing some belt tightening as far as its Lone Ranger film was concerned. Shooting on the Gore Verbinski-directed film – starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer – was to begin this fall. Not anymore. Disney balked at the $200 million price tag that came with the picture, so, the project is on hold until the budget can be scaled back.
Naturally, everyone questioned why the hell a Western would cost so much. Johnny Depp costs a fortune these days. There’s that. But still, $200 million? Where does the rest of the money go?
An early version of the script might yield some clues. Hollywood Elsewhere got a look at Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio’s 2009 draft – which has since received an overhaul by Justin Haythe – and it was riddled with werewolves.
That’s right. Focusing heavily on Depp’s Tonto character, some Native American folklore was going to be pulled in and a nasty shapeshifter of sorts was going to be a main baddie. But again, that’s from a 2009 draft and things could have changed in Haythe’s hands.
It could give some sort of hint as to why the budget was so costly (CGI and all).
Source: Hollywood Elsewhere
