This is not exactly the biggest surprise, since he was linked to the role back before the film got shut down over budget worries, but James Badge Dale is now back in the frame to play Armie Hammer’s brother in The Lone Ranger.
If he signs on, Dale will be Dan Reid, a former Texas Ranger himself and something of a hero in the old West.
Ranger, adapted from the classic TV series, is set to gear up properly next month with Gore Verbinski in the director’s saddle, and sees Hammer as the titular hero and Johnny Depp as sidekick Tonto. The current cast includes Luther’s Ruth Wilson (playing Dale’s wife), Tom Wilkinson, Barry Pepper, Helena Bonham Carter and Dwight Yoakum.
Dale has made a name for himself on the small screen rather than the big one, with meaty roles in series such as The Pacific and Rubicon. But this year is shaping up to be the one that may see him break out in cinemas, between appearing in this month’s Shame alongside Michael Fassbender, having a key role in World War Z and completing work on Robert Zemeckis’ recently-wrapped return to live action, Flight.