Lone Ranger canceled.

[Ed_Laprade]

According to an article I read just a while ago on AOL news the Disney remake of The Lone Ranger has been canceled. And from what the article had to say about it: Hurray!!! (J. Depp as Tonto, and, um, some white guy. Also, possible werewolves!)

 

[Mouseferatu]

Yeah, I was originally very upset that it was canceled, but that's when I thought we might actually be getting, you know, a Lone Ranger movie.

Then I read this: Werewolves Blow Out "Ranger" Budget? | News | Dark Horizons

I've seen other sources doubting the authenticity of that report, but if it's true, then all I can say is, yeah, canceling was probably too good for it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

On the one hand, I can understand the werewolves angle- it answers the question "Why did TLR use silver bullets?"

But really, it was a question best left unanswered in TLR. Maybe in some kind of Alt-universe thing, or a genre-fiction knockoff- say, Deadlands' take on TLR- but not in TLR itself.

 

[Elf Witch]

As much as I like some of Johnny Depp movies I was just shaking my head over this one. I like Tonto as much as the next person and I think it would be cool to see a movie with him having more to do.

But come on the star is the Lone Ranger. It was like hearing they are making a Robin Hood movie but Friar Tuck is the main character.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

As much as I like some of Johnny Depp movies I was just shaking my head over this one. I like Tonto as much as the next person and I think it would be cool to see a movie with him having more to do.

But come on the star is the Lone Ranger. It was like hearing they are making a Robin Hood movie but Friar Tuck is the main character.

Besides, why cast Depp as a Native American when there are many qualified Native American actors who could do the role?

 

[Mark Chance]

On the one hand, I can understand the werewolves angle- it answers the question "Why did TLR use silver bullets?"

Because he owned a silver mine, and the bullets were his calling card. Also the Lone Ranger said he used silver to symbolize justice and as a reminder of how costly violence can be.

 

[Klaus]

Any Lone Ranger movie would do well to look into the current Lone Ranger comic book. Very cool indeed.

 

[Umbran]

Besides, why cast Depp as a Native American when there are many qualified Native American actors who could do the role?

1) Johnny Depp will get butts in theater seats, when another actor people don't know won't.

2) Depp claims that his great-grandmother was Native American.

I don't know how "pure" you want his blood to be before you think he can claim enough ancestry to take a role.

 

[Elf Witch]

1) Johnny Depp will get butts in theater seats, when another actor people don't know won't.

2) Depp claims that his great-grandmother was Native American.

I don't know how "pure" you want his blood to be before you think he can claim enough ancestry to take a role.

Yes he can.

But there are a lot of Native American actors who are more then just a quarter because they had a great grandmother who was a native American.

I think it is a little insulting and since a lot of these actors have trouble finding roles because of the limited number of rolls open to them it would cause bad publicity.

I don't mind color blind casting when it is not important like with Gwen on Merlin. But sometimes it does matter. I would refuse to see a movie about Martin Luther King with a white actor even if he had a black ancestor if he looked white the same as I would with a black actor playing George Washington.

I think we have grown beyond white actors in black face and make up to look Asian.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

1) Johnny Depp will get butts in theater seats, when another actor people don't know won't.

2) Depp claims that his great-grandmother was Native American.

I don't know how "pure" you want his blood to be before you think he can claim enough ancestry to take a role.

I'm not saying Depp shouldn't be in the film, I'm saying he shouldn't be cast as Tonto. His actual ancestry aside, there are Native American actors who can do the role justice without nearly so much makeup.

For example, you can see me in the (overstuffed) Green Lantern T-shirt below:

I've got pictures!

From L to R, Bento, Richard, DannyAlcatraz

DannyAlcatraz and the gamestore co-owner, Nathan.

The fight is on!

Were I an actor, I could claim ancestry equivalent to Depp's to play a Puerto Rican, German, Frenchman, Choctaw, Italian, Moroccan, Englishman or an Eastern European Jew.

Visually, casting me as anything but a Puerto Rican or black (creole from New Orleans) would be less than believable.

And given the dearth of roles that are tailor made for NA actors- especially those who really look the part- Depp's box office draw would be better utilized not only attracting people to the film, but also possibly letting one such actor get some much-needed exposure. IOW, Depp took somebody's break.