UPDATE (11:36 p.m.): Big oops on my part. It turns out Depp will be playing Tonto in “The Lone Ranger,” not the hero himself. Which, frankly, strikes me as even odder. But anyway, sorry for getting ahead of myself this afternoon.
EARLIER: So…what do we think about this? The news has broken out of the Kodak Theater during a Disney event this afternoon and is slowly trickling its way through the web. Before long, it’ll likely be the biggest entertainment story of the week, maybe the month, because these things get inflated when a guy like Depp and a property like “The Lone Ranger” come together, so let’s dig into it now.
A Bruckheimer/Verbinski/Rossio/Elliot collaboration on this material is a perfect conception and exactly what would make it work at a time when the western is struggling to make its way to relevance once again. But I’m approaching this news with some measured reserve. The likely reaction will be a gigantic: “That’s awesome!” But I dunno…
This is an exciting project regardless. “The Lone Ranger” has quickly become one of my most anticipated films in the Hollywood pipeline and despite my ambivalence about today’s news, it still is.
Also announced at the event, by the way, was that there will be a fourth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Considering the dollars involved in that franchise, it’s certainly not a surprise, but I don’t think I’m alone when I say: “Ugh.”
Additionally, Depp was “officially” announced as Tim Burton’s Mad Hatter in the upcoming “Alice in Wonderland.”
Tell us what you think of Johnny Depp’s casting trifecta this afternoon.