JohnnyDepp-Zone.com

Good news — it’s official! Disney has now confirmed that the cost-cutting studio has reached a meeting of the minds with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski over their reboot of The Lone Ranger, and has given the green light to resume production. Filming is now scheduled to begin on February 6, 2012, with Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the Ranger. To accommodate the three-month delay (Lone Ranger was originally scheduled to start filming at Halloween), Disney has moved the release date to May 31, 2013.

Variety reports that “some pricey f/x sequences involving supernatural elements” were trimmed from Justin Haythe’s script to reduce the budget, and that “Verbinski, Bruckheimer and stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer also reduced their fees by 20%, with certain payments deferred until the box office results start coming in.” Variety also claims that Disney has handed the budgetary hot potato — potential cost overruns — to Bruckheimer Films: “If the budget goes beyond the new agreed upon number, Bruckheimer — not Disney — would have to pay for overages.” If Variety’s story is accurate, the creative forces behind Lone Ranger have made significant sacrifices to see their movie made. Kudos to them for believing in their project and for putting hundreds of people to work at a time when those jobs are desperately needed.

“Johnny Depp, Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski are such a talented combination and we’re thrilled to get back to work with them on The Lone Ranger,” a Disney spokesperson told Anthony Breznican of EW’s Inside Movies blog. We’re thrilled, too, to see this movie back in production!

The Zone thanks Emma and SeaGoddessCalypso for breaking the news; you can read more about the resurrection of The Lone Ranger on the Zone’s News & Views forum. You can read Anthony Breznican’s blog post HERE.