Gore Verbinski to ride 'Lone Ranger'

By Adnan Tezer Nov 24, 2010, 19:57 GMT

Disney has signed Gore Verbinski to direct the bigscreen version of the iconic "The Lone Ranger."

According to Variety, Jerry Bruckheimer is producing and Johnny Depp is attached to play Tonto.

No actors have been mentioned in connection with the role of the Lone Ranger.

The project reunites Verbinski with Disney, Bruckheimer and Depp after he directed the first three of "The Pirates of the Caribbean" films.

"The Lone Ranger" was created by George W. Trendle and developed by Fran Striker.

The title character is a masked Texas Ranger in the American Old West who rights the injustices he encounters with the aid of his wise Native American companion, Tonto.

"The Lone Ranger" premiered on radio in 1933, leading to nearly 3,000 radio shows, while the TV series with Clayton Moore ran for five seasons beginning in 1949.

Many of the sayings on the show, ("Kemo Sabe," "Hi-ho, Silver, away," "Who was that masked man, anyway?") have become embedded in pop culture as well as the theme music from the William Tell Overture.

Reruns of the original TV show are still broadcast today, sixty-one years after their initial broadcast.

Verbinski and Depp recently worked on the cartoon "Rango," which Paramount opens March 4, 2011.