Gore Verbinski To Direct Depp In Lone Ranger?

Deadline reports director Gore Verbinski is in talks with Disney to helm their epic take on the Lone Ranger. The only actor who is attached to the project is Johnny Depp who will portray Tonto. Yet there have been rumors of George Clooney playing the lead. It would be the fifth film Gore and Depp have worked together on. Previously they worked on the Pirates of The Caribbean trilogy and more recently with the animated film Rango. Hopefully Verbinski can do for westerns what he did for pirate films. Considering recent blockbuster type westerns like Wild Wild West and Jonah Hex haven't fared well with quality. Of course the genre mixing Cowboys & Aliens looks to break that streak. It's been a while since we've seen straight-up "fun" westerns like The Quick & The Dead,  Maverick and Young Guns.