The Lone Ranger: The 2013 Blockbuster We All Seem To Forget
The summer of 2013 is packed with action blockbuster films that will make us comic book movie fans cringe in excitement. Between the highly anticipated Superman reboot
Man of Steel,
Iron Man 3,
Star Trek Into Darkness,
Pacific Rim, and others, we’ll be spending a large amount of time at the movie theatre. Amongst all these great films that are set to blow our mind this summer, I have generally noticed that movie fans have mostly forgotten about Disney’s epic action film....
The Lone Ranger. Produced by the same team who brought us the Pirates of the Caribbean saga, Jerry Bruckehimer and company, The Longer Ranger looks to bring us a star studded partnership between the same Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, and A-list actors such as Armie Hammer, another Pirates of the Caribbean alum Johnny Depp, Tom Wilkinson, Wiliam Fichtner, Helena Bonham Carter and more. Slated for a July 3, 2013, release, movie fans need to take more notice of this big summer action flick as The Lone Ranger looks to revamp the Old Western movie genre.
Some readers may be asking themselves right now “why should I care about The Lone Ranger?” For those who don’t know, the Lone Ranger is actually one of the most iconic characters in the history of American culture. The Lone Ranger made its first appearance in 1933 on the radio station WXYZ. Centered around the plot of a Texas Ranger, who out of six rangers, was the only individual to survive an ambush by a band of outlaws due to the help of an Indian named Tonto, The Lone Ranger fights for law and order, and against evil and crime. The radio show became so popular, the Lone Ranger quickly turned into a popular TV show in 1949 that aired for eight seasons. With a total of 221 episodes made, the Lone Ranger inspired an entire American generation with the Lone Ranger’s trademark cowboy hat and mask, and classic catchphrases such as “Hi-yo, Silver! Away,” and Tonto’s “Ke-mo sah-bee.” Beyond the TV show, the Lone Ranger starred in famous film serials, 4 feature length films, animated films, comic strips, novels, its very own children’s toy line, and even a video game. The Lone Ranger has made its way throughout every form of the media possible, and it’s no surprise that the 21st century would soon get its own version to inspire a new generation.
Now that you understand the Lone Ranger’s cultural significance, it’ll help show you how difficult the production process for this movie was. For years upon years, many film companies attempted to acquire the rights to a Lone Ranger film, entering what movie companies call “development hell.” In 2007 the Weinstein Company became extremely interested in purchasing the rights, but at the very last second, the deal fell through. Fortunately for Entertainment Rights, they took a chance at capitalizing off of the Weinstein Company’s mistake, and hit a home run by purchasing the property. Entertainment Rights then gave the project to American film and television producer, Jerry Bruckheimer. Known for his over the top action sequences and big, I mean big explosions, Bruckheimer has produced huge films such as
Beverly Hills Cop,
Top Gun,
Bad Boys,
Pearl Harbor, and of course, the
Pirates of the Caribbeansaga. In 2003, Bruckheimer was honored was the first producer in Hollywood history to produce the top two highest-grossing films of a single weekend,
Boys Boys II, and
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. As you can see, Entertainment Rights left this huge project in with a producer more than capable of making this film a hit. Bruckheimer immediately made headlines by casting Johnny Depp as Tonto in just September of 2008. In 2009, Mike Newell, director of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, entered negotiations to direct the Lone Ranger. However, Bruckheimer decided to hold off on the hiring, and wait for Depp and Newell to finish there current projects. A year later, in 2010, Bruckheimer hired Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski to direct the film.
Just when it seems that The Lone Ranger was finally prepared to begin filming, the film entered some major setbacks as it was delayed due to budget concerns based off the under-performance of another Western-genre film
Cowboys & Aliens. Finally in October 2011, Bruckheimer struck gold when he announced the the budget was reworked, and the studio is ready to take its chance on the Lone Ranger film. Officially directed by Gore Verbinski and scored by the great Hans Zimmer, the Lone Ranger was ready to start filming with the two leads Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp under a budget of a whopping 250 million.
As explained before, there is no doubt Jerry Bruckheimer is the perfect producer to start up a Lone Ranger franchise. First off, he made a great financial and physical casting of Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp is one of the most popular actors in the world right now, as in 2012 the Guiness Book of World Records declared Depp the highest paid actor with $75 million. Coming from a Disney studio that has produced recent flops such as John Carter and the Prince of Persia, Disney needed an actor who can immediately draw fans to the box office by just saying his name. Although some have created some controversy behind Johnny Depp not actually being “native American,” movie goes will come to see that Depp is too good of an actor to let that one trait drag his performance down. The next casting is my favorite as Armie Hammer plays the tittle character... the Lone Ranger. Not only has he shown he is one of the largest up and coming actors out there through his stellar performances in
The Social Network and
J. Edgar, but he has the potential to be a major box office draw. If you don’t feel Armie Hammer has the look of the Lone Ranger, you are largely mistaken. I urge you to watch the trailer below, and research some pictures of him in the costume, his appearance in the film is nearly flawless. Beyond the two star actors headlining the film, you also have Golden Globe and Emmy award winning actor Tom Wilkinson, Emmy award winning actor Barry Pepper, Ruth Wilson, and two-time Academy award nominated actress Helena Bonham Carter co-starring, who I might add shares an incredible on-screen chemistry with Johnny Depp as the two have starred in 5 movies together. Also let’s not forget William Fichtner, who is set to play the Lone Ranger’s archenemies Butch Cavendish, the very leader of the band of outlaws that nearly killed the Lone Ranger, a.k.a. John Reid.
The Lone Ranger has nothing short of a spectacular cast, truly helping define its status as a summer blockbuster. As emphasized in the trailer, where it states that the Lone Ranger is brought from the same producers as Pirates of the Caribbean, the Lone Ranger looks to be Bruckheimer’s next big franchise. I couldn’t say it better myself as many movie films as have called the Lone Ranger “The
Pirates of the Caribbean meeting the old wild west.” Also portrayed in the trailer, the Lone Ranger looks to be packed with various large explosions, heart-pounded stunts, continuos gun action, and a well-thought out plot. The wait for a Lone Ranger film is nearly over, and on July 3, 2013, old Lone Ranger fans, and new ones, will watch as one film changes the direction of an entire movie genre. Continue to be excited for the great action movies that are set to premiere this upcoming summer, but do not forget about pop corn action flick The Lone Ranger, that I promise will give you a great time at the movies, and a more profound view on one of the most iconic characters in the history of modern American culture.
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-CaptainDC