Los Angeles: Disney has shut down production of Johnny Depp starrer 'The Lone Ranger', its ambitious retelling of the classic western.
The abrupt move to kill a project that was set to begin shooting in the fall comes amid clashes with producer Jerry Bruckheimer over the budget for the project, which was scheduled to be released in December 2012, The Hollywood Reporter said.
'Lone Ranger' was heralded by Disney as a potential franchise starring the bankable Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger. Gore Verbinski, director of the first three 'Pirates of the Caribbean' films, was set to helm.
The move is a direct blow to Bruckheimer, who has produced the four mega-hit 'Pirates' films for Disney. It also raises questions about whether Depp will agree to reprise his starring role in another Pirates film, which is a priority for the studio.
"Gore doesn't want to budge for what he thinks a movie like this needs," a source said.
One concern for the studio, is that even though Depp is a big star, the project is a western, and the genre is facing some dark days, particularly in light of the recent poor showing of 'Cowboys & Aliens'.
"The fact that it's a Western is a definite concern," the source added.
The project heated up later last year when Verbinski came on board as director, and soon Hammer, riding high from his turn as the Winklevoss twins in 'The Social Network', signed on to play the Ranger.
Ranger was casting up and was all set to go on floors in October.
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