Helena Bonham Carter up for 'Lone Ranger' role
Here鈥檚 a twist for you: and Helena Bonham Carter now look to appear together in a film that is NOT being directed by Tim Burton. Instead, it鈥檒l be helmed by another fellow Depp has a good working relationship with (Gore Verbinski), on Disney鈥檚 .
Carter is currently in talks to sign on for Lone Ranger, as are two actors familiar with the western genre (in a good way): actor Barry Pepper () and actor/musician ().
Depp is the big selling point for Lone Ranger, where he鈥檒l play the Ranger鈥檚 capable American Indian sidekick, Tonto. is also onboard as the main hero, who is reportedly being refashioned as a possibly-insane by Verbinski, screenwriter Justin Haythe (), and co-writers and Terry Rossio (the series).
According to , Yoakam is up to appear as the villainous Butch Cavendish. According to traditional Lone Ranger lore, Cavendish鈥檚 gang of outlaws ambushed and killed a pack of Texas Rangers 鈥� save for one fellow (Hammer) who was rescued by Tonto (Depp) and would go on to become the famous masked vigilante of the Old West.
Pepper is in line to star in Lone Ranger as Captain J. Fuller, leader of the seventh cavalry, while Carter could appear as the 鈥渃olorful鈥� madam of a brothel. Also onboard for the film are as a (possibly evil) railroad tycoon and as the film鈥檚 female lead.
Despite having accrued a solid cast for his next big-budget venture, Verbinski鈥檚 plans for a revisionist take on the Lone Ranger mythos already has a lot of fans up in arms. Even though there鈥檚 something refreshing about the director鈥檚 idea of what sounds like a quirky and whimsical take on the Ranger story (as opposed to the now standard 鈥渄ark and gritty鈥� approach), the idea of the main hero being presented not as a noble and idealistic figure, but instead a possibly delusional cowboy, has not seemed all that appealing to most longtime fans of the Lone Ranger. To use a timely analogy: Think of what the outcry from comic book fans would鈥檝e been, had Joe Johnston decided to present Steve Rogers as someone who maybe only imagined he had super-human abilities in .
Will that unorthodox approach to the Lone Ranger鈥檚 story ultimately work for Verbinski? It鈥檚 a variation on what he attempted to do with the main character in , though that film wasn鈥檛 laden with a pre-established history. Not to mention, more moviegoers were willing to accept that sort of off-beat protagonist in an animated western that featured (among other things) an owl mariachi band and 鈥檚 鈥淢an with No Name鈥� as a golf cart-riding spirit 鈥� as opposed to a Lone Ranger movie. Still, best to just wait and see how it all eventually pans out, for now.
Lone Ranger is slated to arrive in U.S. theaters on December 21st, 2012.
Source:
Sandy Schaefer blogs at .
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