UPDATED: Ryan Gosling Not in Talks to Play 'The Lone Ranger' Opposite Johnny Depp

Monday, 18 April 2011 16:59 Written by Jordan DeSaulnier

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UPDATED: Ryan Gosling Not in Talks to Play 'The Lone Ranger' Opposite Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp has long been attached to play Native American sidekick Tonto in a big screen update of The Lone Ranger for Gore Verbinski, the director of the first three Pirate of the Caribbean films. The title role has remained mysterious, however, with George Clooney's name most consistently linked to the masked Texas Ranger who became an American icon first in a serialized radio series beginning in 1933 and later on television. In a surprising turn, though, it appears The Notebook star Ryan Gosling is in talks with Disney to ride Silver the Horse and civilize the Old West in The Lone Ranger.

UPDATE: Hey girl, with the exception of Logan's Run, it looks like Gosling's not going to be blockbusting too much. According to Entertainment Weekly the initial report was premature, and Gosling is not in talks to star in The Lone Ranger. A representative for the actor set the record straight, and apparently, Gosling's "schedule was not firmed up." That may or may not be a euphemism.

TheWrap broke the news today, and their report specifies that this in nowhere near a done deal, and Gosling's crowded schedule could be a problem. The actor, who for years confined himself almost exclusively to roles in independent dramas such as Half Nelson and Lars and the Real Girl, recently committed to the big budget science fiction revival Logan's Run for director Nicolas Winding Refn. That Warner Bros film is scheduled to begin production this fall, and if it proceeds according to plan, that might leave no time for Gosling to team up with Depp.

Justin Haythe is currently writing The Lone Ranger for Disney, with a projected release date in 2014. Verbinski and Depp will be reteaming with Pirates producer and blockbuster factory Jerry Bruckheimer for the film, which the director has described as blending elements of 'Don Quixote' with the familiar story of the Ranger and Tonto.

Johnny Depp is, of course, reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in this summer's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides for director Rob Marshall.

For some time now, Ryan Gosling has been pursued by major studios as a lead actor for a myriad of potential franchises, but he deliberately resisted. Unexpectedly, he seems to have decided that he's ready to go mainstream. There's Logan's Run, which will reteam him with Refn, his director in this fall's action film Drive, and he's playing alongside Steve Carell in this summer's Stupid, Crazy, Love. Now, if his schedule permits, it looks like he'll star in The Lone Ranger, a most franchise-y franchise, with one of the biggest stars around.