Disney says 'whoa' to 'Lone Ranger' film

Johnny Depp was all set to ride in the big-screen Disney version of The Lone Ranger. Armie Hammer had the title role and Depp was down for playing Tonto in the film to be directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It even had a release date: Dec. 21, 2012.

But now the production has come to a surprising halt. Deadline's Mike Fleming reports that Disney became concerned about a budget of more than $200 million, especially in these wild economic times, but that everyone involved is in discussions to see if there's a way to get it back on track.