Most of us probably never even heard of the actor by the unlikely name of Armie Hammer until he showed up on the cast list of the upcoming The Lone Ranger flick.  But it looks like that bit of work is leading to more.  In fact, Hammer will be taking his place beside one of the most iconic action stars in Hollywood, Tom Cruise, in Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of the television spy classic, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

He’s not just getting put into the background, like almost every other role he’s played besides the Ranger.  In fact, he’ll be the co-star proper, playing the big screen’s version of Illya Kuryakin to Cruise’s Napoleon Solo.  If ever a man was in a position to start asking for more money, this is probably it.

Thanks to ComingSoon for the heads-up.

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With all the other movies coming out this summer - Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Man of Steel – it kind of seems like The Lone Ranger‘s gotten lost in all the static. So now’s a good time to be reminded that it’s also coming out this year. I guess.

Today, two new character posters have been released featuring Armie Hammer as The Ranger, and Johnny Depp as his faithful sidekick Tonto.

Check out this one of Hammer as The Lone Ranger.

And this one of Depp as Tonto.

Synopsis: From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the team behind the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “The Lone Ranger,” a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

Source: Comic Book Movie

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Summer is coming and with it comes an army of movies, all seeking to make tons of money and perhaps even entertain audiences while doing it.  One of these movies, The Lone Ranger is gearing up with a new round of marketing, despite a lukewarm reception from potential viewers thus far.

First and foremost, there is a new poster, which you can see above.  It’s okay, you can scroll back and take a look at it if you want.  I’ll wait.

The second, and a much bigger marketing move, is an amazingly expensive 90-second Super Bowl spot that Disney purchased.  Apparently, this tiny bit of time cost in the neighborhood of $12 million!  That’s only about 5% of the movie’s total budget… wtf?

But supposedly a lot of people watch the super-ball-foot-game, a fact that Disney is hoping will turn the tide of opinion around on their rebooted cowboys and Indians franchise.  So if you happen to be there on the Super Bowl day, check out the new trailer when it airs sometime between the passings of balls and the kickings of goals.

Or just wait around until the entire movie hits screens on July 3^rd.

Thanks to GeekTyrant for the heads-up.

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A full trailer for the long troubled Lone Ranger reboot should be released soon. Till then Walt Disney Pictures has decided to release a small taste of whats to come via ABC. Good Morning America had the honor of being the first morning chat/news show to awkwardly joke about Johnny Depp wearing a bird for a hat plus give us the low down on the mask that Armie Hammer wears as the titular character. Did you know that it was felt on the old TV show but now leather for the movie?

I am off to go update Wikipedia, while I do that you enjoy the clip after the jump. Fair warning, it is straight from ABC so stop it after a minute lest you be exposed to the latest gossip about Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. Looks like she is going to Yoko Ono the band One Direction. I’ll update that wiki too.

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Aw yeah, it’s another wild rumor! These are my favorite ’cause they create the biggest stir, and today’s will likely start some chatter. Moviehole is reporting a source close to the Justice League movie has said Armie Hammer is, “back on WB‘s radar,” for Batman. See, back when WB took their first stab at a Justice League flick, before it was squashed by the writer’s strike, Hammer was Batman, would they cast him again? Hmm.

Y’know, I’m not really sure if Hammer having been their choice before makes him a stronger candidate or not? What I bet will make him a strong candidate is how well The Lone Ranger performs. If the movie’s a hit and he shines, then I’d call it very likely.

This “source” continued with, “The Batman in this movie might only be used in Justice League movies.” So they’re not lookin’ to jump start a new franchise. Though who’s to say if the Justice League movie is successful it won’t becomes its own franchise.

What say you bastards? Is Hammer who you’d pick for the Batman of WB’s Justice League movie?

Source: Blastr

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Hot on the heels of the new poster and production stills comes the first trailer from director Gore Verbinski‘s The Lone Ranger. The story is retold through the eyes of Tonto (Johnny Depp), how John Reid (Armie Hammer) is transformed from a simple man of the law into the legend of justice known as the Lone Ranger.

Will this “Buddie Cop” western translate to theater audiences? The synopsis talks about,”taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction.” As long as it’s not another Wild Wild West train wreck then I’ll probably go see it in the theater.

One interesting side note about this production is how Johnny Depp is handling taking on the role of Tonto, a Native American Indian. While many times when an actor plays a part outside his race (Depp does have some Cherokee blood line in his family) there are protests and calls for equality in casting (See The Last Avatar, no don’t see it. It sucks balls.), Depp seems impervious to those criticisms.

Back in May, Depp was inducted into the Comanche Nation as an honorary member, Tonto has long been depicted as a member of that tribe. Just last week Depp also made a surprise appearance as the Grand Marshall in Oklahoma for the 21st Annual Comanche Nation Fair.

Check out the trailer and let us know what you think in the comments section below.

The Lone Ranger rides its way onto theater screens on July 3rd, 2013.

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San Diego Comic-Con, home of the mass-spamming of footage from every movie coming out for the next year, dropped another tidbit on fans – some scenes from Disney’s upcoming Lone Ranger film.

This new take on an old classic is being directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) and stars Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp as his Native American sidekick, Tonto.

First opinions of the clip suggest that it’s a darker and more serious film than many expected, especially considering the pairing of Verbinski and Depp.  While we at Nerdbastards were not lucky enough to sit in on the presentation, we did find a nice description of the footage via Entertainment Weekly.

Amid scenes of the transcontinental railroad coming together in the mid-1860s, we hear the voice of Tom Wilkinson, playing an unspecified character – who clearly sounds megalomaniacal. “From the time of Alexander the Great, no man could travel faster than the horse that carried him. … Not anymore. … Imagine time and space under the mastery of man — power that makes emperors and kings look like fools. … Whoever controls this, controls the future.”

It’s hard to piece together much plot from the clips shown, but we see Armie Hammer as the title character, looking disheveled and intense. There’s a bit of gunslinging, and we see Depp’s white-and-black painted Native American warrior hanging beneath a moving train as he uncouples one of the cars.

Helena Bonham Carter turns up in elegant gentlewoman’s finery, and we see a bit of blood splashing on the ground, and some massive train accidents.

Normally I’m not a big cowboy movie kinda guy, but reading this actually makes me a little excited about the film.

Barring unforeseen complications, Lone Ranger is set to open in theaters May 31^st of next year.

Thanks to EW for the look-see.

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Disney’s The Lone Ranger had a rocky road through development as the studio insisted deep cuts to the budget before it was greenlit. The Gore Verbinski-directed film starring Armie Hammer as the titular hero and Johnny Depp as his sidekick Tonto finally got rolling earlier this year, but now it seems that there’s some cash flow issues for the troubled production as it moves forward in New Mexico.

The Hollywood Reporter is saying that once again The Lone Ranger is facing production trouble. Principal photography began on February 28th but the shoot is dragging on because of severe wind and dust storms that keeping hitting the outdoor sets. Now weeks behind schedule, the film’s budget is ratcheting back up to the $250 million mark, the plateau that Disney balked at when Ranger was in pre-production.

Now the film’s backers are forcing Verbinksi to make more cuts and do on-set rewrites to attempt to bring the budget back under control. The situation is rather financially dire as shooting is expected to continue until August, and then the rush will be on to make sure that the film makes its July 3rd, 2013 release date.

But despite that, once advertising and publicity costs are factored in, the total budget will likely exceed $300 million, meaning that the film will have to make in excess of $800 million at the box office to be successful. Considering that we’re talking about a classic cowboy tale like The Lone Ranger, will the film be able to make that much back? Doubtful, but who would have thought that Verbinski could have turned a series of Pirate movies into a billion dollar franchise?

More news as it develops.

Source: Cinema Blend

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Lionsgate hasn’t found the “perfect” Finnick Odair for their film adaptation of Catching Fire just yet, but some names are being thrown around right now as potential whores tributes.

Sources are saying that the three potentials are Armie Hammer, Taylor Kitsch and Garrett Hedlund, although the studio may also be considering some unknowns for the part.  What we do know for sure, however, is that Robert Pattinson is not in the running regardless of whatever rumors are being bandied about.  In any case, chances are we’ll hear about the official casting decision now long from now, and we’ll all rest easy knowing which actor will be wielding a trident in the next film.

Catching Fire will hit theaters on November 22, 2013 and filming will start in the fall of this year.

Who would you rather see portraying the District 4 victor?  I guess it doesn’t matter unless the dude has got “incredible green eyes” or whatever the hell it says in the books.

Source: Comic Book Movie

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I’m really underwhelmed with Dark Shadows, so let’s look at our first image from The Lone Ranger to start off. Featured here are Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the Ranger himself. What do you think?

Not gonna lie, and I doubt I’ll be the first or last to say this, but does Depp as Tonto come off as slightly racist to you? The makeup and costume look great, don’t get me wrong, but were there no American Indian actors available or willing to take the part?  I know the original part wasn’t very considerate to American Indians so maybe no one wanted the part, but you don’t cast Johnny Depp when you’ve run out of options. I don’t know, nowadays when a white actor plays an ethnic role you can’t help but get a little squeamish about whether or not it’s appropriate.

Otherwise, I think Hammer looks great! As of right now Disney‘s The Lone Ranger is set to release May 31st, 2013.

More Depp after the jump!

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