Yesterday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Walt Disney unveiled about twenty minutes of director Gore Verbinski‘s The Lone Ranger.  Since I was on the red carpet waiting for the cast and filmmakers, I missed the screening.  But talking to a few people that did see the footage, the consensus I heard was that it looked great and it was a lot better than all of them expected.  If you want to judge some of the movie for yourself…watch the brand new trailer that was released yesterday.

Shortly after walking off the stage, I landed a red carpet interview with Verbinski.  We talked about how he decided which footage to show the CinemaCon audience, how long his first cut ran, he reveals that he still doesn’t have a finished cut of the film and doesn’t know how long it’ll be, whether he will ever make another animated film, how much he loved doing Rango, and more.  In addition, I asked if his adaptation of the graphic novel Pyongyang is his next film.  Hit the jump to watch.

Earlier today at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Walt Disney unveiled about twenty minutes of director Gore Verbinski‘s The Lone Ranger.  Since I was on the red carpet waiting for the cast and filmmakers, I missed the screening.  But talking to a few people that did see the footage, the consensus I heard was that it looked great and it was a lot better than all of them expected.  If you want to judge some of the movie for yourself…watch the brand new trailer that was released earlier today.

Shortly after walking off the stage, I landed a red carpet interview with Armie Hammer.  We talked about what he went through trying to land the role, how much the script changed along the way and the supernatural/werewolves rumors, filming the train sequence practically, how he can’t escape being asked about Justice League, and he reveals that he’s about to sign a contract for a new movie role.  Hit the jump to watch.

Shortly before producer Jerry Bruckheimer hit the CinemaCon stage in Las Vegas to talk about The Lone Ranger (watch the new trailer here), I landed a short video interview with him on the red carpet backstage.  Since I knew my time would be very limited, I decided to ask the most important question first: What will it take to get Bad Boys 3 made!

In addition to asking about a Bad Boys sequel, he also discussed his reaction to seeing the finished cut of The Lone Ranger, how they decided which footage to show at CinemaCon, and the status of Pirates of the Caribbean 5 and National Treasure 3.  He says they’re working on scripts for both, with a team of writers working on National Treasure 3 and Ted Elliot/Terry Rossio and Jeff Nathanson writing Pirates 5.  Hit the jump to watch.

If you’ve spent the better part of your work week in search of grainy topless photos, search no further because you’ve come to the right place!  We’ve got twenty images of Johnny Depp from the set of The Lone Ranger.  The Gore Verbinski film adapts the iconic radio personalities of John Reid, aka The Lone Ranger (as played by Armie Hammer) and his Native American compatriot, Tonto (Depp).  After the production looked to be in dire straits earlier this year with a rapidly-swelling budget, but a Comic-Con trailer and recently posted set photos have shown that The Lone Ranger is back on track.  Hit the jump to see the new set photos of Depp in costume as Tonto.

We’ve got just a few more release date shuffles to share on this unofficial “Release Date Thursday.”  Following release date news for the X-Men: First Class sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Robopocalypse, as well as Independence Day 3D, here’s a brief rundown of a few more dates:

• Disney’s Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp has been moved from May 31st to July 3rd, 2013.
• Marvel’s Thor 2 is shifting slightly from November 15th to November 8th.
• The sequel Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has been pushed back to August 16th from March 15th, 2013.
• The Ben Stiller-directed remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty will land on Christmas Day, 2013.
• The currently untitled comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids director Paul Feig has been set for April 5th, 2013.

Hit the jump for more on each of the aforementioned films.

It looks as if director Gore Verbinski’s (Rango) take on The Lone Ranger may soon be upping its cast by three. Already starring Armie Hammer in the title role, Johnny Depp as his trusty sidekick Tonto, and Tom Wilkinson as a railroad tycoon, the pic is now close to landing Helena Bonham Carter, Barry Pepper, and country star turned actor Dwight Yoakam. Per Heat Vision, the trio is currently in talks to join the pic as a brothel madam, military officer, and gang leader respectively. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Disney’s adaptation of the classic character is set to begin shooting in mid-October of this year in Texas and New Mexico.

The Lone Ranger is penned by Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, and Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road) and will center on the plight of a Texas Ranger (Hammer) who is left for dead by Yoakam’s gang, only to return as the masked title character. As for the film’s potential new additions, Carter can currently be seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Pepper has a role in Terrence Malick’s untitled romantic drama with Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, and Javier Bardem, and Yoakam is currently lensing director Billy Bob Thornton’s drama Jayne Manfield’s Car alongside Kevin Bacon, Dennis Quaid, John Hurt, and Robert Duvall.

Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton) is in talks to join Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s adaptation of The Lone Ranger. Per Variety, the two-time Oscar nominee would take on the “prominent” role of a railroad tycoon. If the deal goes through, Wilkinson would join a cast that already includes Armie Hammer in the title slot and Johnny Depp as his sidekick, Tonto. Gore Verbinski (Rango) is directing the pic which is scheduled to begin shooting after Depp finishes Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows adaptation and Hammer wraps Tarsem Singh’s (Immortals) untitled Snow White pic alongside Julia Roberts.

The Lone Ranger script comes courtesy of Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, and Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road). In addition to his potential role in Lone Ranger, the usually excellent Wilkinson can next be seen alongside Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington in director John Madden’s (Shakespeare in Love) drama/thriller The Debt which is due out on August 31st. The thesp also signed on to join Samuel L. Jackson in the indie thriller The Samaritan back in April.

If you were let down by Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, you won’t have to wait too long for the re-teaming of Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski.  According to Deadline, Disney has set the adaptation of The Lone Ranger for December 21, 2012.  The film stars Depp as the Comanche indian Tonto who saves the Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer) after he’s left for dead in 1869 Texas.  While the Ranger may be the title character, Depp has previously indicated that the film will reinvent the role of Tonto and make him more of the main character rather than the sidekick.

The biggest competition the film will face will be the second-week release of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which opens on December 14th.  The Lone Ranger will also have to compete with Judd Apatow’s untitled comedy, Philip Noyce’s submarine thriller Hunter Killer, and Ang Lee’s adaptation of Life of Pi.

So far, Johnny Depp has been the public voice of the Lone Ranger adaptation, discussing the opportunity to salute Native American culture and his wish to see Brad Pitt or George Clooney in the title role.  But director Gore Verbinski has a movie to promote — the same one as Depp, actually.  The animated film Rango, which opens March 4.  And so we have access to Verbinski as he sets out on this high profile adaptation:

“It’s just at the primordial stage. We’re working on the screenplay, but if we can pull that off — find that story I want to tell — then it will be worth doing.”

Verbinski went on to discuss Depp’s role as Tonto and compared the storytelling to Don Quixote.  Read what he had to say after the jump.

With the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides long lead marketing in full swing, Johnny Depp recently gave an update on Disney’s planned Lone Ranger film while talking about Pirates.  Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and to be directed by Gore Verbinski (the first three Pirates films), Depp is set to star as Tonto in the project, and he revealed that he wants someone like George Clooney or Brad Pitt in the title role. Depp recently gave an update on the project:

“What we’ve got so far screenplay-wise is really great, really funny. I think it’s going to be good, when we have a chance to put it up on its feet. I always felt Native Americans were badly portrayed in Hollywood films over the decades. It’s a real opportunity for me to give a salute to them. Tonto was a sidekick in all the Lone Ranger series. [This film] is a very different approach to that partnership. And a funny one I think.”

Depp, who’s part Cherokee, gave the status update in an interview with EW.  There’s currently no official start-date for production on the film. The actor will next star in Dark Shadows for director Tim Burton, which is set to begin filming in April. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides hits theaters in 3D on May 20^th.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has debuted a logo for Gore Verbinski‘s upcoming adaptation of The Lone Ranger.  Or possibly, in this adaptation, Lone Ranger, as he is so alone that he can’t be accompanied by the definite article.  Johnny Depp is attached as Tonto and the film is currently searching for a Lone Ranger.  Depp has signaled that he would be interested in Brad Pitt or George Clooney getting the role.

Filming on Lone Ranger is expected to begin later this year with a release slated for sometime in 2012.  Hit the jump to check out the full logo.