There was a time just a few months ago where it seemed that Gore Verbenski's The Longer Ranger film (Which has been in development hell since way back in 2002) was going to suffer another set back and be delayed, due to an over expensive budget of $250 million dollars. But now it seems that the film is back on track (With a much more reasonable budget I assume), and it's next big move has been replacing country singer Dwight Yoakam for William Fichtner as the title villain.
Fichtner will be replacing Yoakam as the popular Lone Ranger villain Butch Cavendish, a leader of a band of outlaws. In the original tale Cavendish and his crew leave John Reid (Armie Hammer) for dead, that is until he is rescued by the Native American Tonto (Johnny Depp). Tonto trains Reid to become the Lone Ranger, and eventually joins him as his sidekick as they seek revenge on Cavendish. So as you can see, Cavedish plays a pretty important role in the origins of the Lone Ranger.
According to Deadline, principal photography was just about to start up on the film, when Yoakam had to drop out due to scheduling issues. Fichtner will be joining a so far very impressive cast, including leading men Armie Hammer (Social Network) and Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), Helena Bonham Carter (Alice in Wonderland), Barry Pepper (True Grit), Ruth Wilson (Luther), Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins), and James Badge Dale (The Grey).
You might not recognize Fichtner at first, but he's probably been in a lot of your favorite films and you haven't even noticed (He's more of a background guy, but still leaves an impression). His credits include The Dark Knight, Heat, Contact, Black Hawk Down, The Perfect Storm, Crash, Date Night, Armageddon, and most notably as The Accountant in Drive Angry 3D. And he's also had television roles in Prison Break, and Entourage, so basically the guy is the perfect villain for any movie.
Whether you have doubts about the movie because of Verbenski's directing, or Depp as Tonto, there's no denying that the film is rounding up a very impressive cast, who also seem to fit well in a Western genre film (With the exception of Carter, who seems to be a bit out of place here). With all the problems the film has gone through, it'll be very interesting to see how it turns out. Look for The Lone Ranger in theaters May 31, 2013.
What do you think of Fichtner as Cavendish? Are you excited about The Lone Ranger?
