Disney dreaded this. Their previous studio head was basically fired because of things like this. And hey, Disney didn’t even want to make The Lone Ranger because the budget was too large. The filmmakers trimmed it down but the movie has gone over budget and is way behind schedule. Rewrites have been ordered.

Disney flinched at the $250 million budget for Lone Ranger and trimmed it down to $215 million, but the budget has ballooned back up to $250 million. No, this isn’t all director Gore Verbinski’s fault, although he does have a reputation for going over budget, like he did with the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Wind storms destroyed some of the sets and caused delays. Also, Verbinski insisted on making old west style trains from scratch rather than use available trains, which is costly.

Disney is asking Verbinski to cut out some of the big and spectacular scenes to compensate, but that kind of takes away the blockbuster factor from this movie, which is a summer blockbuster. Of course, as The Playlist points out, ordinary folks aren’t bothered by this stuff.

Men in Black 3 had a terrible pre production and turned out pretty good and made a lot of money. People who’ve seen the early footage from the film say it’s pretty awesome and reminds them a lot of the first Pirates of the Caribbean as Johnny Depp essentially kicks the Western genre in the ass.

If you’re wondering why Disney doesn’t just fire Verbinski for going over budget, consider this: Johnny Depp wouldn’t left the project if they did. And if Disney hopes to get Depp back for any future projects, they won’t want to upset him. Despite what you might think of him, Depp is extremely loyal.

Are you excited for The Lone Ranger? [THR via The Playlist]

disney, the lone ranger