Armie Hammer has certainly done well out of playing twins in The Social Network, as he’s now shooting Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar, opposite Leo DiCaprio, will be the Prince in Relativity’s Snow White flick and now it appears Gore Verbinski wants him as the title character in The Lone Ranger, according to Deadline.
There was talk earlier this month that Ryan Gosling was being eyed for the Lone Ranger title character, although the actor’s reps confirmed a few days later that he was not in contention for the role. Justified star Timothy Olyphant has also been mentioned as a possible Lone Ranger. However Deadline seems pretty sure that it’s Hammer who will ‘soon be shouting “Hi Yo Silver! Away!”‘
In Verbinski’s mind though, while it’s called The Lone Ranger, he feels it’s more about Tonto, who’ll be played by Johnny Depp. Verbinski’s previously said, “The only version of The Lone Ranger Im interested in doing is Don Quixote told from Sancho Panzas point of view And hence I was honest early on with Johnny that Tonto is the part. Were not going to do it [straight], everyone knows that story. I dont want to tell that story.”
To be honest, if you’ve got Depp on board, it’s not surprising they’re going to base it around him, with Hammer as the all-American hero, while Tonto is the power behind the throne.
There’s still no word on when the film might shoot (it’s been in development for years), but expect to hear more soon.