There is new information to report on the budget woes that surround Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger. According to an article printed in the June 22nd issue of The Hollywood Reporter, the film is back over budget even after all that hubbub last year surrounding the sky high budget.
Just to recap the situation, back in August 2011 Disney shut down production much to the dismay of Jerry Bruckheimer who is producing. Then came news two weeks later that there were huge rewrites underway to drop the budget from $250 million to $200 million. Rumors even surfaced that Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) might be replaced; however, Johnny Depp would not do the project without him. The studio eventually accepted a $215 million budget which got there via fee reductions and reworking of one of the larger scenes in The Lone Ranger.
Fast forward to today and there is news that the movie is already over $250 million thanks in part to some pricey set pieces and weather-related issues as well as being behind schedule. Rewrites are currently underway yet again to bring the cost back to earth, but ultimately this is not necessarily going to be a problem like with most movies.
In fact, the general buzz is that ‘for those who have seen footage’ (whoever that may be) say that this is a genre defining effort on par with what Verbinski did with Pirates of the Caribbean. This is the same guy who directed the first three movies in that Depp-lead franchise, but passed on last year’s On Stranger Tides which was actually the priciest in the entire series insinuating that it may not be his fault for the chronic price overruns in these types of movies.
Cast members in The Lone Ranger include Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Armie Hammer, James Badge Dale, and Tom Wilkinson. The film releases into theaters nationwide on July 3, 2013.