Great for New Mexico and Texas. But, I still hope at least some part of it will be filmed in the Alabama Hills in central California as an homage to the original series as well as many of the old time classical westerns which were filmed there:

The Alabama Hills are a popular filming location for television and movie productions, especially Westerns set in an archetypical "rugged" environment. Since the early 1920s, 150 movies and about a dozen television shows have been filmed here, including Tom Mix films, Hopalong Cassidy films, The Gene Autry Show, and The Lone Ranger. Classics such as Gunga Din, Springfield Rifle, "The Violent Men" (1955 film), Bad Day at Black Rock' (1955), the Budd Boetticher/Randolph Scott "Ranown" westerns, How the West Was Won.

More recent productions such as Tremors and Joshua Tree, were filmed at "movie ranch" sites known as Movie Flats and Movie Flat Road. In Gladiator, actor Russell Crowe rides a horse in front of the Alabamas, with Mount Whitney in the background, for a scene presumably set in Spain. Star Trek Generations was filmed here in addition to Overton, Nevada and Paramount Studios. This range was one of the filming locations for Disney's Dinosaur. More recently, many parts of the films Iron Man and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were filmed here.

But shadowydog...the Lone Ranger was a TEXAS Ranger, not a California ranger!

Tom Wilkinson circles 'Lone Ranger'
Thesp would join Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp in Disney's Western

By MARC GRASER
Variety
Posted: Wed., Jun. 22, 2011, 3:24pm PT


Tom Wilkinson is in early talks to join the cast of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer's "Lone Ranger."

The thesp would portray a railroad tycoon in the Old West who plays a prominent role in the Mouse House's bigscreen pair-up of Armie Hammer, as the masked Texas Ranger, and his trusty sidekick, Tonto, to be played by Johnny Depp.

Gore Verbinski will helm the pic, which starts lensing this fall, skedded to bow Dec. 21, 2012.

Film reteams the director with Depp in dusty cowboy country after Paramount's animated hit, "Rango."

Wilkinson recently signed on to star opposite Samuel L. Jackson in the indie thriller "The Samaritan," and Boris Damast's "Vivaldi." His recent credits also include Robert Redford's "The Conspirator," a cameo in "The Green Hornet," and the Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis comedy "Burke and Hare." He will next be seen in "The Debt."

The "Lone Ranger" script was penned by "Pirates of the Caribbean"-franchise scribes Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and Justin Haythe ("Revolutionary Road").

Film becomes Bruckheimer's next tentpole after the fourth "Pirates" installment, which has hauled in $960 million in booty at the worldwide box office so far.

Production on "Lone Ranger" starts after Depp wraps up WB's "Dark Shadows" adaptation and Hammer finishes Relativity Media's "Snow White" comedy-fantasy, with Julia Roberts.

The Lone Ranger character was first introduced in a 1933 radio show, created by George W. Trendle and developed by Fran Strike, before turning into a TV series during the 1950s and spinning off into movies and comcbooks.

Wilkinson is repped by Lou Coulson Associates and Principal Entertainment.

If the Lone Ranger begin filming in October, we can expect the D23 Expo, which acontce in August? I'm a little confused.

One thing I remember about those old Lone Ranger shows, when they wre out in the "country," it always looked like they wre standing next to the same big rock! Very fake looking. Let's hope for Texas.

Thanks Theresa!

Except for LA without a Map, I've seen every Depp movie. But I've really been hoping Lone Ranger would be a film that would fall by the wayside, like the Pancho Villa film. Guess it's too late to collect signatures asking Johnny to forget about this one? If he does it, I hope I'm 1000% wrong and it's a fun film, but the writing team has gotten predictable and, being the business side of things, you know Disney & JB are in it for the $ and not necessarily JD's best interests. I liked the TV show but don't see how this can be a success today. And now controversy is arising about needing a "real" Indian, not JD, for the role. Gore Verbinki's a bright light, though.

UNLESS, as Jack Sparrow would say, Johnny's going to pull the old switcheroo as they did with Pancho Villa and say HE thinks an American more Native than himself would be best for the role, and then suggest maybe Gil Birmingham.

He's done some very good work in British films but has found amazing success playing Americans, almost the opposite of Johnny

I've seen him in those movies you mentioned and some of his other work as well. This is great casting news.

I know what you mean, Adrien.

I've been kind of worried about this one, too, but I don't think I'd give up on it just yet. I wasn't the least bit excited about Rango either, when it was first announced (I mean, a Western movie about a lizard? gimme a break!), but it ended up turning out to be way better than I expected. Hopefully, Johnny and Gore can bring that same magic this time around, too!

He isn't and his script was basically scrapped and totally rewritten.

And I don't mind part being filmed in Texas....BUT that rock is real and is one of the most famous rocks in Hollywood history. I stood next to it. Hope it at LEAST makes a cameo in this movie.