Remakes of classic movies/tv shows/cartoons/books are very tempting to a Hollywood studio for obvious reasons. There is name recognition for the general public, in many cases the source material is pretty rich often with iconic type character, and generally proven type-structure is already there. Sometimes this adaption is pretty successful and highly profitable… but can it be done with The Lone Ranger?
Apparently, Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott (the guys who wrote Pirates of the Caribbean) have been developing an adaptation of The Lone Ranger for none other than Jerry Bruckheimer to produce. The good folks over at Cinematical give us this:
According to the report, the studio won’t confirm the assignment, so they can only go by their sources, and as HI describes it, the writing duo is “trying to create a new juggernaut for Bruckheimer to exploit.” Sure, they made pirates all the rage, but can they do the same with cowboys?
I remember various re-run incarnations of The Lone Ranger on TV when I was a kid. I do remember having fun watching it, but it never made that much of an impression on me. There is no denying the pure name recognition… but the reality is that’s all it is… recognition. People in my age range and younger never grew up on The Lone Ranger (unlike say… Transformers).
And if Bruckheimer is looking for a blockbuster… the western genre hasn’t exactly been pulling them into the theaters. Even a magnificent film like 3:10 To Yuma couldn’t generate much. Sure there was Wild Wild West back in 1999 that took in over $110 million, but that was really capitalizing on a Will Smith lead who was at the the height of his popularity fresh off Independence Day and Men In Black… and yes there was Unforgiven… but that was an Oscar winner and over 15 years ago.
So yes, a Lone Ranger movie would probably be worth a shot, but if Bruckheimer is looking for his next major blockbuster… I think he looking in the wrong place. Guess we’ll wait and see.
