UPDATE: Disney Shuts Down Production On The Lone Ranger; Fate Of Movie Uncertain!

In a stunning development, Disney has shut down production on The Lone Ranger, the Gore Verbinski-directed film that was to star Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the title character. Jerry Bruckheimer is the producer. I'm told this all just happened, and Disney pulled the plug because the budget, which the filmmakers reduced from $242 million to $232 million was too expensive for the studio.

This is stunning because Bruckheimer is the long time cornerstone producer on the Disney lot and because Depp has starred in the studio's all time biggest films, including Alice in Wonderland and the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Deep and Verbinski teamed for three of those pictures., grossing billions of dollars for the studio. Verbinski most recently directed Rango, the Paramount film that is a front runner for Best Animated Film Oscar.

The film was scheduled to be released December 21, 2012, smack up against The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which opens December 14, and the Brad Pitt-starrer World War Z, which was just slated for December 21. It's unclear whether that factored into the decision. The studio and filmmakers are trying to figure out the next step, which would either be to shop it elsewhere or put it back together at a later date at a lower budget. Calls to Disney were not returned.

Johnny Depp is in Europe right now, but really wanted to make The Lone Ranger. According to one insider, "Let's see how it all shakes out on Monday. There's always a chance that it could go. You never know until you know." Everyone involved is still intent on the project and still in discussions to see what can be done.