comment #1

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

Haha, that'll work.

Bale and Depp in this summer's Public Enemies will be a better indication of audience approval of them as a tag-team.

comment #2

Gabriel says ...

I think McConaughey would be the more interesting choice here, actually.

comment #3

Rich S. says ...

Better Matt play the Lone Ranger than Captain America. I have no idea how that rumor started.

comment #4

lazarus says ...

Maybe with the casting of McConaughey, people will actually recognize Depp for the whore he has become, instead of trying to laugh off his choices. How much money does this guy need?

comment #5

Breedlove says ...

McConaughey? Really? Is his career that healthy where he would get the lead in a Bruckheimer franchise with Johnny Depp as his sidekick? I thought he had sort of been consigned to the rom-com, B-movie ghetto. Look what happened with SAHARA.

Have to say I kind of agree with lazarus. Depp went from one extreme to the other. He used to be ultra-indie/picky/integrity dude who was so cool he turned everything down to do weird art films. After PIRATES blew up, he did a complete about-face and now seems to do nothing but bloated Tim Burton movies. It seems like there's got to be a happy medium somewhere. When he signed to work with Mann, it was like, 'FINALLY.'

Tim Burton movies blow.

comment #6

BurmaShave says ...

lazarus, I'm not prepared to call a man who has done THE LIBERTINE in between PIRATES films, is headlining a Michael Mann picture and is doing PARNASSUS and THE RUM DIARY for Bruce Robinson a whore, but this project may be the last concession I'm willing to give him. He's gonna be 46 this year, it'd be nice if he started doing great work again. Probably should stay away from Tim and Bruckheimer for awhile.

comment #7

Josh Massey says ...

Oh, bull. Nobody is worried about casting a guy coming off a $500-million grosser, about to have a $200-million hit, when his rant is already almost forgotten, and will be ancient history when Lone Ranger hits theaters.

If anything, Bale would be avoided because he lacks the sense of humor this role would likely require (if it's anything like Pirates). And that's nothing against Bale, who I really like.

comment #8

lazarus says ...

Burma, I'm not saying Depp isn't hasn't taken any decent roles lately. I'm just calling him a whore. I don't know if he was contracted to do those Pirates sequels, but he's already talked about doing a fourth one, and the Lone Ranger thing is inexcusable. He can't possibly need the money after POTC. And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he appear at some Disney marketing event to announce the Lone Ranger project? That makes him a whore AND a shill.

Also, playing fucking Tonto?! His Native American activist friend Marlon Brando would be rolling in his grave if, you know, there was room for him to do so down there.

comment #9

nemo says ...

"[Bale is] carrying a certain prick status at the moment due to his still reverberating rant."

So they choose a guy with a different kind of prick status, if you know what I mean.

I wonder what the reaction among Native American actors will be to Depp playing Tonto. Maybe no self-respecting Native American actor wants the part. Though it would be a hoot seeing a tough guy like Wes Studi playing a cold hard Tonto giving the stink eye to a preening cream puff like McConaughey.

comment #10

great scott says ...

Johnny Depp is going to play Tonto? God forbid they cast a Native American to play a Native American. Maybe Depp can play Obama if Will Smith isn't available.

comment #11

CrayonPie says ...

I give McConaughey a pass for "Lone Star, the best movie that almost noone knows about.

comment #12

shermy says ...

I also doubt Bale would be rejected because of his most memorable, layered, and interesting performance to date.

comment #13

dinovelvet says ...

There might be something to the prick status thing...Russell Crowe hasn't had a solo hit since the phone throwing thing (American Gangster was Denzel's show, right?). Bale hasn't carried anything that wasn't already an established property with a huge following, and he isn't exactly the go-to guy for a breezy summer action-comedy, is he?

comment #14

joncro says ...

The Lone Ranger and Tonto suddenly find themselves trapped in a box canyon by a war party of angry Indians. The Lone Ranger turns to Tonto and says 'What are we going to do, Tonto?'

Tonto just looks at him and says:

'What do you mean we, white man?'

comment #15

Jason says ...

Joncro: I read that in the script, too. Depp is going to nail the punchline, especially if he uses his Jack Sparrow accent and winks at the camera.

comment #16

Aladdin Sane says ...

Jason FTW.

comment #17

oldnumberseven.wordpress.com says ...

Holy christ!

comment #18

televisiontears says ...

Say what you will about Depp, but I'm 26 and the man looks younger than me. That's not plastic surgery, that's shady dealings with the devil.

comment #19

T. S. Idiot says ...

De Niro for Lone Ranger; Pacino as Tonto.

comment #20

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Jonco and Jason - you must not realize that is a VERY old joke.

None of these guys strike the right balance for me.

How about someone not attached to any franchise like Jon Hamm from "Mad Men"? Now, there's a guy who knows how to do a wry joke to perfection.

comment #21

TM says ...

You all do know that Depp does have Native American heritage? Cherokee, IIRC.

comment #22

115thDreamer says ...

You need someone with a chiseled-jaw, manly-man look/vibe to play the Lone Ranger, not a pretty boy type. I'd say Viggo Mortenson, but I know he's not a big enough star for the powers-that-be to want for it. Deathtongue, you're on the right track with Jon Hamm, but again, nowhere near a big enough star to be the lead and have Depp play second banana to him. Hell, why not totally nutso and have Nic Cage do it - Cage & Depp...crazy costumes...stilted dialogue....Cage doing "Cage things"...I'd see that in a second.

comment #23

JCEFalconi says ...

@115th

It doesn't really matter who would be truest to the character because the Lone Ranger hasn't been relevant for longer than 40 years. He's not remembered as he was in the series, he is remembered as the vaguely defined pop culture icon, which is "HERO COWBOY WITH DOMINO MASK, INDIAN SIDEKICK", that's all there is to it.

And Depp may not look 100% native, but he definitely looks Mestizo (European + Indian).

comment #24

BurmaShave says ...

Actually not that he'd be perfect, but Hugh Jackman's representation should be beating these guys doors down, I'm not seeing WOLVERINE for a few more hours, but I have a feeling he may want a new franchise.

comment #25

actionman says ...

horrendous casting idea

can't be true

comment #26

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

I agree with TM - I thought it was common knowledge that Depp had some distant Native American heritage? I distinctly remember reading some women's magazine profile of him that excitedly announced this fact and explanined, "Just look at those cheekbones!"

comment #27

dangovich says ...

Because Depp lives in France, wears fedoras and has odd facial hair, the mainstream media continues to label him as "independent," despite a growing body of evidence to the contrary.

comment #28

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

Depp spent his 20s and 30s doing mentalist films with oddball filmmakers. I think he's entitled to cash in a bit during his 40s.

Honestly, when he reaches his 50s-60s he'll not be asked to headline anymore big-budget blockbusters. Why begrudge him a few mega-hits now? He'll rightly be remembered as one of this generation's few genuine megastars, along with Cruise, Pitt, Crowe, Smith, Washington and Damon.

comment #29

hawthorne says ...

is this movie going to be a comedy or more of a satiric take on the story? There is no way the casting that is being tossed around here could be taken seriously.

comment #30

scooterzz says ...

fwiw -- that 'what do you mean we?' gag first appeared in the march 1958 issue of mad magazine in a feature called 'tv scenes we'd like to see'....it was a two panel strip drawn by joe orlando.....
if this script is going to be recycling 50 year old jokes from mad magazine, casting is the least of it's problems.....

comment #31

Terry McCarty says ...

115thDreamer wrote:
Hell, why not totally nutso and have Nic Cage do it - Cage & Depp...crazy costumes...stilted dialogue....Cage doing "Cage things"...I'd see that in a second.

Or you could have the possible heir-apparent-to-Cage Ryan Gosling.

comment #32

DickJones says ...

Another old joke:
http://prettyboring.com/files/images/Kemosabe.preview.JPG

comment #33

Josh Massey says ...

Where did this "Depp has sold out!" groundswell come from? Aside from the Pirates sequels, I don't see any evidence of that - and I thought At World's End was much better than it gets credit for.

I think people are forgetting how risky Jack Sparrow originally was - I'm still shocked Disney let him get away with it. And yeah, he did Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - but he didn't exactly play Wonka straight. He appeared in a blood-soaked R-rated musical, a Michael Mann period piece, and films about a 17th century poet and a turn of the century author. Where exactly is the egregious sell out?

If he's doing The Lone Ranger, I'm certainly giving him the benefit of the doubt until I see it onscreen.

comment #34

G.N.A. says ...

Remember the last guy to play The Lone Ranger? His name was Klinton Spilsbury. He played the masked man in the 1981 movie THE LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER. After that he was never seen or heard from again.

Maybe we'll get lucky and the same thing will happen with the goofy and insufferable McConaughey.

comment #35

MilkMan says ...

Clint Eastwood as the Lone Ranger, Benecio del Toro as Tonto
or
George Clooney and Shia LeBeouf
or
Will Smith and Ben Stiller
or
Ashton Kutcher and Fischer Stevens
or
Kyle McChlachlan (I have no idea how to spell that) and Cheech Marin
or
Kevin Costner and Luis Guzman

comment #36

Abbey Normal says ...

Josh: I agree. Let's nip this "Depp has sold out" meme in the bud right now. If nothing else, Sweeney and Public Enemies gives Depp a pass until at least late 2010. Actually, Lazarus seems to have more of a problem with Burton than with Depp, when you get right down to it.

comment #37

BurmaShave says ...

SWEENEY TODD is not a sell-out, it's just a drab failure.

comment #38

frankbooth says ...

It's kind of amazing that no one cast McLachlan as a superhero back when he was younger. I mean, that chin...

comment #39

frankbooth says ...

Also, I wanna know how The Lone Ranger is a lone ranger when he has Tonto following him around. Doesn't seem all that lone to me.

comment #40

Josh Massey says ...

Agent Cooper was a superhero, dammit. And Lynch certainly tried even earlier - in his own way - with Dune.

comment #41

Gordon27 says ...

test