Rumor: Lone Ranger and Tonto Characters to Magic Kingdom

RUMOR

This may only be a wild rumor at this point, but I’ve heard that the Lone Ranger and Tonto may become face characters in Frontierland in 2013.  With Johnny Depp playing the role of Tonto, Disney would like to see a nice box office from this movie and tie that in with merchandise sales.   I’m wondering if it might be more of a small scale show akin to Captain Jack’s Pirate Tutorial that is being considered, rather than a meet and greet.   As a child I used to enjoy the Wild West shootout shows in small towns in the mountains.

I could easily see the Lone Ranger offering a meet, but Tonto’s makeup may be a bit much for the toddler set.  Depp’s Tonto character will appear scary for small children in a live meet, so I wonder if they would tone down the appearance slightly.  How difficult would it be to produce a black suit, white shirt, hat and mask to meet with The Lone Ranger though?  This will be another Jerry Bruckheimer/Gore Verbinski large scale production that the studio hopes will restore children’s interest in the Wild West.  The film is set to release May 31, 2013.  Will children put down their light sabers and pick up six shooters?

I hope they do strongly consider this offering because there are so few strong male role models in face form in the parks these days. FYI:  Johnny Depp’s inspiration for Tonto came from a painting called “I am crow” that he had seen by an artist named Kirby Sattler.  The image that Mr. Sattler painted is remarkably similar to the costume that Johnny Depp helped to develop.