The Lone Ranger: First pic of Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer

Snarkiness and resolve respectively from Johnny Depp's Tonto and Armie Hammer's Lone Ranger...
Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger in 'The Lone Ranger' (2013)
After various budget wrangles, Gore Verbinski’s take on the Lone Ranger mythology is finally going ahead. It’s filming in Albuquerque now, and set for release next year. And here we have our first look at the film, hinting at the visual style Verbinski might take.
Tweeted by Bruckheimer, with the caption “Tonto and The Lone Ranger ride again!”, the image features Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean, Rango, Alice in Wonderland) as Tonto and Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as John Reid/the Lone Ranger (who will henceforth be referred to as simply ‘the Lone Ranger’, because it’s cooler).
Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger in 'The Lone Ranger' (2013)
The picture makes use of a starkly contrasting, almost black-and-white colour scheme. This is perhaps reminiscent of the scene where Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) finds himself in Davy Jones’ locker, in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (also directed by Gore Verbinski).
Johnny Depp’s Tonto pulls a typically snarky face in the picture. Presumably this is because, like Gromit from Wallace & Gromit, he’s smarter one but nonetheless stuck being the sidekick.
However, maybe it’s not that. There are other,
more interesting explanations. Maybe the side of the Lone Ranger’s face is distractingly scarred, making him look like the Batman villain Two-Face. Maybe his eyeliner is making his eyes itchy. Maybe he’s wondering why the Lone Ranger is staring off blankly into space like a mind-wiped Active from Dollhouse. Maybe he’s irked at the bird on top of his head, despite how well it seems to fit with the rest of his costume. Maybe he’s just aware of how painfully obvious it is that the Lone Ranger’s hands are superglued together, but doesn’t want to mention it. Maybe the Lone Ranger’s sitting on a barrel and pretending it’s a horse.
Or maybe Tonto just doesn’t like normal hats.
Armie Hammer’s Lone Ranger is staring straight ahead, seemingly at nothing in particular. Maybe this represents his oblivious disregard for Tonto, despite Tonto’s savviness, a dynamic which will no doubt be explored to humorous effect in the film. Maybe he’s consumed by some unspecified grief which will drive him throughout the film (or the sequel, if this shot is from the end of the film). Or maybe it just represents his straightforward, unwavering commitment to justice.
Also, Armie Hammer’s expression hints at the serious, square-jawed Casey from Chuck look. Not that this probably has any relevance, it’s just cool.
It looks like the Lone Ranger is a Marvel fan, since he seems to be wearing a badge with Captain America’s shield on his jacket… (‘The First Avenger’, ‘the Lone Ranger’…they even sound kind of similar…)
Johnny Depp is reteaming with director Gore Verbinski (who he worked with on POTC 1-3 and the Oscar-winning Rango) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer (who he worked with on POTC 1-4), in both cases for the fifth time. The three of them clearly have an effective creative synergy.
Along with Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, the excellent cast features James Badge Dale (Rubicon), Ruth Wilson (Luther), Tom Wilkinson (Inception), Barry Pepper (True Grit), James Frain (Tron: Legacy), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech), and William Fichtner (The Dark Knight, Armageddon, Equilibrium, pretty much everything else) as the villain, making it perhaps the most cultured cast for a blockbuster ever. Maybe the characters will sip tea while discussing classic literature and shooting at each other.
Reportedly the Lone Ranger himself will be a little goofier than previous incarnations, being a bit of a figure of fun, with Tonto being the smarter one. Hopefully Armie Hammer will take after his namesake Captain Hammer from Doctor Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog, posing cheesily, ham-fistedly attempting catchphrases, and perhaps gleefully singing (intended to be inspiring) songs about how heroic he is.
In any case, The Lone Ranger looks set to be a rather unconventional blockbuster. But then again, Johnny Depp’s never been conventional, and that hasn’t stopped him from being brilliant, or from appearing in brilliant blockbusters for that matter.
[Mild Lord of the Rings: Return of the King spoilers follow]
Despite the film’s title, The Lone Ranger isn't an Aragorn prequel to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; just as Man on Fire isn’t in fact a Denethor sequel to Return of the King.
Armie Hammer is in the upcoming Mirror, Mirror, which looks moderately awful, unlike the epic stylings of this year’s rival Snow White film, Snow White and the Huntsman. However, Mirror, Mirror director Tarsem Singh (The Fall, Immortals) has said he's “really angry at the trailers” for his film, so perhaps it could be good after all. And in any case, it would seem hardly fair to judge Armie Hammer for being in a bad film overall, when from the looks of it he’s having fun with his role.
The Lone Ranger is set to be released on May 31, 2013, two weeks after the highly anticipated fellow blockbuster Star Trek 2.

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