Armie Hammer to star as The Lone Ranger opposite Johnny Depp?

Armie Hammer might jump into the saddle for Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger. According to Deadline, The Social Network star is in early talks to play the eponymous serial hero.

Last week it seemed that Ryan Gosling was a shoe-in to star as TLR, opposite Johnny Depp’s Tonto. His reps later revealed that Gosling’s schedule was too jam-packed to include the upcoming western.

Hammer really did blow us away with his duel performance as the Winklevei in The Social Network (robbed of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar – yeah, we said it!) so we’re looking forward to his transition to the big leagues. It may not be Superman, but it’s a start.

Discuss: Keen to see Hammer don the famous eye-mask of The Lone Ranger?