When we think of the Lone Ranger and Tonto, the image our mind creates is inspired by the Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels versions of the character, portrayals that are 60 years old. You think buckskin. You think square jaws. You think the 1950’s version of what a cowboy would look like.
The reason why this image sticks with us is that every interpretation of the character since then, be it in movies, television, cartoons or comic books, haven’t strayed from this look. That’s what make the picture tweeted by Jerry Buckheimer, producer of Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger, all that more shocking:
Since it’s such a break from the norm, the natural knee jerk reaction would be to snark about the picture. “So, this time the Lone Ranger and Tonto are united by their mutual love of the works of Edgar Allan Poe!” “Here we see a scene where the duo heads out to the desert to catch a Bauhaus/Cure double bill!”
Of course, this is just one image and it might not be indicative of the direction the whole film will go into. The Lone Ranger is ripe for reinterpretation. But does it really need to go so “goth”?
I like the look for both of them. This take on Tonto is going to emphasize a more spiritual/mystical side to the character, which I think they capture here. And the Ranger’s look is alot more authentic Old West than a powder blue suit ever did.