So why did Disney get cold feet about The Lone Ranger?

The Playlist has some ideas to share:

Hollywood is heading into an unusually thrifty mode these days, with several big potential projects, like Guillermo del Toro‘s “At the Mountains of Madness” and Ron Howard‘s “The Dark Tower” being scrapped since the start of the year. But of all the big movies in the works, one that reunited the producer, writers, director and star of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, which has taken over $3 billion worldwide theatrically alone, seemed to be a safe bet. And yet “The Lone Ranger,” which was to star Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, to be directed by Gore Verbinskiand produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, has been shut down by Disney after concern over the film’s budget, said to have risen to a whopping $232 million (that itself cut down from an original $250 million price tag).

Jeffrey Wells wrote over the weekend that the film was “a kind of an Indian-spirituality werewolf movie” with extensive CGI, hence the gigantic budget, based on his ready of a 2009 draft of the film by ‘Pirates’ writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. It’s been no secret that the film, like the swashbuckling franchise, would involve supernatural elements, but we’ve read the same draft, and Wells doesn’t have it quite right: there are supernatural wolves, and a legion of coyotes, but they’re not strictly speaking werewolves. Instead, the major supernatural element in the script involves the Wendigo, a cannibalistic Native American spirit capable of possessing humans.

As such, the effects workload wouldn’t have been any higher than the average blockbuster —of course there would be heavy CGI elements, but probably far less than something like, say, Disney’s other forthcoming tentpoles “John Carter” and “Oz: The Great and Powerful”—and the fantastical elements, at least in Elliot and Rossio’s draft (Justin Haythe has since come on board to rewrite) aren’t massively prominent, the film being more of a straight action Western.

So the idea that the film’s hit a speedbump because it’s stacked with CGI isn’t accurate, the reasons being far more varied. We suspect that the film will still move ahead at some point—Depp’s likely to be on a pay-or-play contract, and Disney won’t want to take that hit without getting something out of it. It might even make its October start date if the budget can be trimmed down enough (although whether Verbinski comes along for the ride is more of a question mark—as Warners did with “Akira,” the studio may go after a younger, cheaper helmer who can bring the film in on a budget). But how did that budget get so big? And why did Disney start to feel so nervous about something which only a few months ago seemed like a sure-fire hit?

Disney stops work on The Lone Ranger!

Deadline has the details:

In a stunning development, Disney has shut down production on The Lone Ranger, the Gore Verbinski-directed period Western that was to star Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the title character. Jerry Bruckheimer is the producer and the script's by Justin Haythe. I'm told this all just happened, and Disney pulled the plug because the budget, which I've heard the filmmakers were trying to reduce from $250 million--I've heard from insider that they'd gotten down to $232 million, but whatever the number, it wasn't close to the $200 million that Disney wanted to spend. This had to be an incredibly tough call for Disney's Rich Ross and Sean Bailey, but they have several huge live action bets on the table already. John Carter, the Andrew Stanton-directed adaptation of John Carter of Mars with Friday Night Lights' Taylor Kitsch in the lead role, has a budget that has ballooned to north of $300 million because of extensive re-shoots [a studio insider said the number is lower], and The Great and Powerful Oz, the Sam Raimi-directed James Franco-starrer has a budget is hovering at $200 million. Lone Ranger wasn't starting production until October, and and even though money has been spent as the picture is in pre-production (Depp is pay or play), but it was the easiest one on which to apply the brakes. The shoot was set for New Mexico. Between Depp, Bruckheimer and Verbinski, the gross outlay on the film is substantial. The film was still casting up, with Ruth Wilson, the serial killer from the BBC's Lutherseries, set for the female lead.

The Lone Ranger may now be played by Armie Hammer...

...according to The Hollywood Reporter:

Armie Hammer, who portrayed the Winklevoss Twins in the Oscar-winning The Social Network, is in talks to play the title character of Disney's The Lone Ranger.

No dealmaking has begun, but Hammer has met with director Gore Verbinski for the role. If all goes well, Hammer would star opposite Johnny Depp, who is playing the Lone Ranger's partner, Tonto.

Jerry Bruckheimer is producing the movie, which has been looking for a star to play the Western hero. Ryan Gosling is one of the actors who had circled the project in recent weeks.

Hammer, repped by WME, has had quite the ride since Social Network's awards circuit. He booked a role in J. Edgar, Clint Eastwood's biopic of notorious FBI head J. Edgar Hoover, and recently nabbed the role of the prince in Relativity's take on the Snow White fairy tale, The Brothers Grimm: Snow White. Lone Ranger would be his biggest role yet.

-Joey's Two Cents: I was in favor of Gosling, but Hammer is an excellent choice as well...thoughts?

Is Ryan Gosling in talks to play the Lone Ranger?

Apparently so, according to The Wrap:

Ryan Gosling is in talks to star in Disney's "The Lone Ranger," TheWrap has learned.

It's early, and Gosling's schedule might not permit him to take the role of the Lone Ranger opposite Johnny Depp as Tonto. Gosling is starring as Logan in "Logan's Run" which is scheduled to begin production this fall.

"The Lone Ranger" is a big movie: Gore Verbinski, who directed the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, is directing the adaptation of the durable franchise for producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

The Lone Ranger started as a radio serial and was later turned into a TV series. The Lone Ranger is a masked lawman who, with his Native American friend Tonto, fights injustice. Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels starred in the "Lone Ranger" television series form 1949 to 1957.

"Revolutionary Road's" Justin Haythe is writing the screenplay.

Gosling was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in the 2006 film "Half Nelson."