JohnnyDepp-Zone.com

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer contradicts a report in Jim Hill’s blog that claimed his new version of The Lone Ranger would see production before his Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Not so, says Mr. Bruckheimer: Johnny Depp will set sail on the Black Pearl again before he saddles up as Tonto. “It’s a great franchise for them [Disney] and for us, too,” he told Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net. “We love the character and Johnny was really excited about coming back to Captain Jack. He certainly is interested in Tonto, but Disney’s priority is to get Pirates made first.” The producer did not mention any scheduling dates, however, and he did leave his options open. “You never know what’s going to happen,” Mr. Bruckheimer conceded, “but they [Disney] would like it.”

Neither Pirates 4 nor The Lone Ranger seems to have gotten past the script-writing stage of development yet, and since POTC scribes Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott are writing both films, one project will have to take precedence. Mr. Bruckheimer told ComingSoon.net that the duo are “writing Pirates as we speak,” but other than promising that the script would be “funny” and “a whole new way of going,” the producer would divulge no details about Captain Jack Sparrow’s 4th adventure. Asked if there were any chance director Gore Verbinski might return to the pirate crew now that his plans to film Bioshock have hit a snag, Mr. Bruckheimer replied, “You never know. He created the franchise so we’d love to have him back, but it’s kind of up to him.”

As for The Lone Ranger, Mr. Bruckheimer said that casting of the Ranger will wait “until they got a director and Disney says to go make the movie.” Apparently neither of these events have happened yet, so those reports that Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) was already in the director’s chair were premature. “We don’t have a director yet,” Mr. Bruckheimer said. Newell’s current project, Prince of Persia, is in post-production and scheduled for a summer 2010 release: “He’s too busy on Prince of Persia right now.”

The Zone thanks Emma for posting the interview with Jerry Bruckheimer; you can read more on the News & Views forum. –Part-Time Poet