With the strike looming, properties that previously looked unpopular are secondly getting a chance to be reconsidered. We’re seeing super-hero movies green lit that most people wouldn’t have given much thought to (Green Arrow?) so it only seems appropriate that other heroes might have a chance as well - even questionable cowboy heroes.
Hollywood Insider is reporting news that Jerry Bruckheimer is currently interested in reigniting the story of The Lone Ranger, and even has Pirates of the Caribbean scripters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot working on a screenplay. While the site couldn’t get confirmation from Disney, the signs are good that Bruckheimer is looking for another franchise to exploit, and the story of The Lone Ranger just might be that franchise.
Good luck to Bruckheimer if that’s his new target. Cowboys just aren’t that popular in contemporary culture. At least with PotC he had the famous Disney ride to cash in on and, well, pirates – which have been a popular staple of the Internet for a while (pirates vs. ninjas, International Speak Like a Pirate Day, etc). The old West just doesn’t have the same draw, part of the reason western pictures are so hard to pull off… although 3:10 to Yuma has managed it, so why not The Lone Ranger.
I honestly can’t imagine a revival of the old radio drama. Several attempts have been made in recent years with no real success. Then again, the character I most closely associate with The Lone Ranger (thanks to an ‘80s cartoon), Zorro, has had several popular movies, so why not this franchise? While I wouldn’t exactly race to the theater, I guess I’d be willing to see a Bruckheimer-produced Lone Ranger picture: You know, hearing the William Tell Overture as realized by Linkin Park for a score as a masked Brad Pitt rides toward the screen along with Angelina Jolie as Tonto – a more politically correct equal version of the character (along with sex appeal for marketing), and a new generation starts using “Hi-Ho Silver, Away” as a new catchphrase.
No, I was wrong. I don’t think I’d want to see that at all.
