The Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, comes out on July 3 in America, just in time for the 4th of July weekend box office battle. I’m actually quite sure that The Lone Ranger will make money. It will probably make buckets of money. It will probably make so much money that there will be talk of a sequel. But here’s what’s really worrying me: Depp’s Disneyified parody of the Tonto character – which, yes, has always been a racial/racist caricature – will become “cool” with kids and a million young children will think it’s awesome to talk to in stilted pidgin English. Ugh. I know I’m overthinking it. Go ahead and yell at me. But… it still bugs.
Anyway, there’s a new trailer for The Lone Ranger. I covered the first trailer back in October of last year, and Bedhead covered the second trailer in December. I feel like producers are making a concerted effort to de-emphasize the racial caricature aspect of Depp’s Tonto and rebrand this story as ALL Armie Hammer. Which is okay, I guess. Here’s the new (and final) trailer:
I like that they show Tonto saving the Lone Ranger’s life. I like that they seem to have a real partnership, a bromance or whatever. That will make it better. And I guess Disney is just hoping that people don’t overthink everything. Sure. Good plan!
Here are some photos of Armie Hammer at CinemaCon yesterday… Depp was there too, but he didn’t pose on the carpet. The fact that Depp went to CinemaCon to shill this movie? Yeah. Depp really wants this to be a big hit.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and Disney.
He is a pretty man. I like looking at him (Armie, not Johnny).
lol, yeah Johnny is a little hard to look at now… I like looking at Armie, he is a good looking man, very elegant he has this old-hollywood vibe about him, and he has a sexy voice, the film still looks crappy to be honest…
Oh really? then go suck his cock bitch why are you always trashing johnny ? Armie looks like a little girl and he disgust me so much and he can’t even Act !! he won’t have a chance with johnny , johnny stole the whole show
johnny is much better than the girly looking armie who
I saw the Q&A event yesterday through live stream. They all seemed to be in good spirits, although JD did look a bit tired. I do feel this is a bromance movie…even during the Q&A there was some sort of chemistry between them and I am fairly confident JD will do justice to Tonto.
He always said he was bothered by the fact that Tonto was just a sidekick and never an active participant. Now the story is told from his perspective and I think it might work. They’ve been quietly looking for approvals from the Navajos and the Comanche nation, so at least it’s a sign that they want to make things right and Johnny wants to make justice. It would be too risky to have an insulting portrayal of a Native American and they can’t afford that.
I just hope that apart from the entertainment factor, we’ll have something meaningful thrown in there or some spirituality lessons. Gore Verbinski knows what to do with big budget movies. Even though the two Pirates sequels never came close to surpassing the first one, they always had these bombastic, epic finales and moments which stood out (The Kraken, the Maelstrom). Rango, his last effort, was also a solid movie. I love how he is not that heavy on the CGI and actually tries to avoid it as much as possible. Heh, they even built trains!
Definitely looking forward to this one and if not in the USA, it will be a big overseas hit, although please please Disney, don’t let it flop like John Carter.
johnny didn’t looked tired ! He looked so happy and healthy and young
Oh, this looks great. If I was a 13 year old boy and liked to see “shit blow up”.
Looks like a really fun movie. I’ll probably see this one.
Johnny Depp who is 1/16th Native American is playing a Native American character. How is this not a bigger deal??!! There are so few representations of Native Americans in the media and when a chance comes that we might actually get to see/hear a Native American he’s played by a white guy. Imagine if this was a black/white issue and how much uproar there would be.
I’m more concerned about the fact that they are keeping the name Tonto, which is Spanish for stupid, thick, idiot… take your pick 🙁
Tonto belongs to the Pottawatomie nation and the name translates as ‘wild one’. Yeah, unfortunately the word has an unflattering meaning in Spanish, but the name is too iconic to have it changed.
Except the movie is not in Spanish. I do not speak Potawatomi, but reportedly Tonto means wild one. I never saw the old Lone Ranger, but I don’t see anything wrong with reimagining the character to be the more of a protagonist. It’s not like Depp was speaking broken English. Obviously without seeing the movie it is impossible to know, but I don’t find anything offensive about the trailer.
Also, just to add, I don’t think there would be any uproar if someone 1/16 black was cast to play a black role, especially if their looks showed that heritage. At least in the US, I think we still pretty much go with the one drop rule; even a small fraction of black heritage and you are considered part of the black community.
Why did anyone think this was a good idea? So incredibly offensive. Even if they had hired a Native American actor, this is just not a film that should have been made.
1/16? I keep seeing he is a Cherokee. 1/8, 1/16.. He’s not. He claimed he “guessed.. Cherokee or Creek.” Two of the easiest tribes per blood quantum and laws to be excepted into. And yet neither tribe recognizes him. He has been adopted by the Comanche, so he is Comanche without any heritage. Someone researched his family tree and was able to only find 1/2048 Powhatan descent. As Native American, I can tell you that claiming you are Indigenous based on that, is more insulting than a white guy playing an Indian in a movie.
I can’t even deal with how terrible this looks.
Shutup idiot it looks great , it will be the biggest movie of the summer
from Dead Man to this… how do you spell ‘sell out’?
Dead Man is a great Movie, but comparing it with The Lone Ranger isn’t a fair deal. Disneys The Lone Ranger is a complete different taste with another target audience. Would’t agree the movie isn’t worth seeing, as far as I can judge on the available Trailers. For sure, it doesn’t looks as ambitious.
Crap. Old friend-in-my-head and childhood crush Johnny is making me cringe with every Tonto word, but I still want to see this movie. Damn you, Disney.
Not supporting this. Tonto should have been played by a Native American, or a Latino of significant Native American heritage. Even an Asian who could pass for Native American would be better.
I get that JD is part Native American, but I feel as though that should have given him enough respect for increasing the visibility of Native Americans in society to support casting a more Native-American-looking person in this role.
Im not understanding. Depp is part Native American, but he doesn’t look it enough, so they should have cast an Asian man that looks more Native American?
Yeah, I was scratching my head on that one, too. Plus, I’ve always thought that Depp does look Native American. He’s played Native Americans in movies before. I listened to the trailer for this movie, and I’m hearing a pronounced Native American accent (I lived in Montana; Native Americans have a distinct accent), but I’m not hearing pidgin English. I want to see the movie before I start condemning it as racist because honestly, from the trailers, I’m not picking that up.
If JD were a bagger at the KC Publix, or riding his bicycle down mainstreet at midnight, or playing guitar at a bar in Missoula, some truckload would call him “Chief”. I reckon he’s Native American enough to qualify for racist abuse, were it not that his immense talent has placed him in a virtually untouchable echelon. By the way, that talent is why he should have the role,whether he’s 1/16 or 1/64.
I mean, JD looks like a white guy to me, straight up. Nothing about his look says “he’s gotta be part Native American.” He just looks Southern European as opposed to a really pale Northern European type. This is not to take away from JD’s ethnic identity in any way, I respect that he is in fact Native American, and it’s cool that he vibes to that part of his identity.
I’m just saying the character of Tonto wasn’t conceived as a 1/16 Native character or a darker-skinned white guy. He was supposed to be close to full blooded. I mean, if a studio cast Tiger Woods as King of Siam in the King and I, it would be off, too, even though Tiger is half-Thai.
I’m all for colorblind casting, but not when it’s a key part of who the character is supposed to be. So yeah, I think Tonto should look mostly Native American, and while a real Native American actor would be ideal, an Asian actor who appeared to be of mostly Native American decent would have been a better pick than JD in my opinion.
YMMV, though, I get where you guys are coming from.
Are you high or something? latinos and asian has anything-nothing-zero to do with native americans…you’re complaining about “heritage” but you don’t know a thing about race and heritage either!
at least Depp has native american ancestry and is from USA!
Latino! Asians! AH! the ridiculous comments that we have to read here
Ruth Wilson!
Native American here and just phoning in to say: you’re right to be bugged by this. It’s total bullshit. Like we don’t get enough shit from white hipsters wearing our sacred headdresses because they think it’s “cute” or “quirky.”
Yea its actually so cute and sexy
I like how basically no one is annoyed at the cultural appropriation with this film. I feel the need to put this into perspective for people because some of you aren’t getting it. Remember US slavery and how thousands of African women were raped by White European men and bore children as a result from those rapes? Well, A LOT of Black people you see walking around today have European ancestry (regardless of features/skin complexion)because of those rapes. Would they be cast to play an Irish man, an English man, etc.? NO, because it would LOOK ridiculous.So let’s not make pretend that JD should be playing this part because his great great great great Grandmom is RUMORED to be Native American. It’s insulting to Native Americans and it’s doubly insulting to Native American actors trying to make it in Hollywood. The part should have been given to a Native American so they could re-write the Tonto character and portray him in new, accurate light.
“The fact that Depp went to CinemaCon to shill this movie? Yeah. Depp really wants this to be a big hit.”
Disney wants that not him but ofcourse he would be happy if the movie turned to be a big hit
The trailer looks great
And just confess celebitchy! you didn’t left pictures with Johnny because he looked really good that day, isn’t it?
You can’t hate on him looking good, isn’t it?
I saw the pictures of him that day and he changed his looks. clean shaved and also he cut his hair…the cheeckbones that millions of women love, etc, etc
yea thats it they just post his pictures when he dosen’t looks good but when he looks gougeous they don’t post it !!
Who cares for you LOSERS
johnny Looked so gorgeous in the Q&A and he was clean shaved and he cuted his hair!
Too bad for you that he will looks even more gorgeous in the coming days and you wouldn’t even have a change to trash him you LOSERS
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