Disney Shoots Down Depp's 'Lone Ranger'

Disney canceled its revival of the Western television show "The Lone Ranger," citing budget disputes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Times said the movie -- which was to star Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer -- could have cost as much as $250 million, and that the studio and filmmakers likely couldn't see making that figure work.

Depp was cast as Tonto -- the Lone Ranger's faithful companion -- while Hammer -- who played identical twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in "The Social Work" -- was set to play the title character.

The cancellation comes after reported budget disputes among Disney executives, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and director Gore Verbinski, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"It's our intention to take a very careful look at what films cost," Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger told analysts on Tuesday, the LA Times reported. "And if we can't get them to a level that we're comfortable with, we think that we're better off actually reducing the size of our slate than making films that are bigger and increasingly more risky."

Bruckheimer produced all four Disney "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, which starred Depp. Verbinski directed the first three of those films. He also directed the computer-animated movie "Rango," which starred Depp as the title character.