Disney's "The Lone Ranger" May Not Be Dead Yet

Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer have reportedly both cut their fees, but will this film make it out the stable?

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Hold your horses, Tonto —The Lone Ranger still has a chance to get its big-screen treatment. We previously reported that Disney had shut down the project, but director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer are aiming to resolve the budgetary dispute and put the project back in the saddle.

A source related to the dealmaking of the film told The Hollywood Reporter, "It all starts with [Verbinski]." The source reiterated, "If there is any saving this version of the movie, he'll have to find substantial savings. If he can, maybe we can hold this together." The filmmaking duo have already begun to trim the fat by reducing their fees by $10 million dollars. But Disney is looking for something more, which is going to have to come from rewrites of the script. 

Maybe some of those supernatural elements, like Native American werewolves and those grandiose train sequences, should be cut to deflate the budget. Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer can even follow in their benefactors footsteps and take a few zeroes off of those checks.
 
What do you guys think? Can Gore Verbinski step up to the plate and save our masked man? We'll keep you posted as more develops.
 
[via THR]

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