Hi-Yo Silver! The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger rides into theaters.

You can’t hear Rossini’s “William Tell Overture” without thinking of a white-hatted, black-masked cowboy and his faithful Native American sidekick. Yes, it’s The Lone Ranger, the enduring Western hero, back on the big screen for the first time since 1981. This version reunites the Pirates of the Caribbean team of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp as Tonto while replacing ships and the high-seas with locomotives and desert scapes. Cowboys are just the pirates of the West, you know. And we talked to the creative team in a Nerdist News special on the Nerdist Channel.

The titular good guy is John Reid, played by Armie Hammer (The Social Network), who is an educated lawyer and deputized Texas Ranger left for dead when a band of evil outlaws led by Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) shoots all the Rangers, including John’s brother. Thanks to Tonto and a mysterious, mystical white horse, John is revived. Together they seek justice. And he wears a black mask. Why? Well, his partner has a dead bird on his head; he needs to have a thing too, otherwise it’s just silly.

The Lone Ranger contains all the action, adventure and humor you come to expect from Verbinski and company, as well as a huge number of references to classic Western films by the likes of John Ford, Howard Hawks and Sergio Leone. So, if you want excitement, check out The Lone Ranger and our Nerdist News special on the Nerdist Channel, because this 4th of July weekend the real fireworks are in the cinemas.

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