Update: Reps for the actor have told EW Ryan Gosling won’t be starring in “The Lone Ranger.” The search continues…
Ryan Gosling is ready to cash in. After building up his name and showing off his chops in a wide array of smaller dramas and indie films like “Blue Valentine,” “Half Nelson” and the upcoming, Cannes-bound “Drive,” the actor is making some big strides into mainstream films. He’s got the big ensemble comedy “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” with Steve Carell coming this summer, and just a couple of months ago he signed up to re-team with Nicolas Winding Refn for “Logan’s Run.” But all of that is small potatoes because he’s now eyeing a role across from one of the biggest movie stars in the world.
The Wrap reports that Gosling in talks to star opposite Johnny Depp in “The Lone Ranger.” The Gore Verbinski-directed film has been in the works now for a while, getting formally announced last fall with Justin Haythe, who adapted “Revolutionary Road” for Sam Mendes and wrote the Fox come-and-gone thriller, “The Clearing” as well as the “Jekyll” project for Keanu Reeves, penning the screenplay.
However, don’t count your spurs just yet. Scheduling will be a huge factor. Both “The Lone Ranger” and “Logan’s Run” are scheduled to shoot this fall so it will likely depend on exact dates and/or one of the projects moving back slightly to make it work for Gosling. Last fall, we pitched our own casting ideas for the role and it was a bunch of much older thesps; clearly Disney wants a younger man for the part. We like Gosling and would pretty much watch him in anything, but in this? Meh, not really feeling it, but we’ll see how this all lands.
It’s going to be a busy year for Gosling. “Drive” hits Cannes next month before hitting theaters on September 16th; “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” opens on July 29th and the George Clooney (who was tipped for “The Lone Ranger” himself way back in the day) directed “Ides of March” will land on October 14th. Meanwhile, Depp will also swashbuckle over to Cannes next month to present “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” which opens May 20th and he’s gearing up to shoot “Dark Shadows” with pal Tim Burton this spring.