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Los Angeles - Johnny Depp will start shooting The Lone Ranger on a reduced budget in February.
Production on the Gore Verbinski-directed movie was put on hold in August because of the huge budget demands required for it, but having now shaved the cost from $275m to $215m, Disney has committed to the project and given it a February 6 start date, Deadline.com reports.
Johnny - who will play Native American sidekick Tonto in the film adaptation - has also confirmed he knew funding for the Western would be a problem.
He said: "We knew that the budget was going to be huge initially, and we also knew that it was going to be shut down for a while, and it was kind of like we patiently wait - we shave a little bit here, we do a little bit there, (and) they fix it."
He also admits he was keen to work on the project to subvert the traditional idea of his character.
He added to MTV News: "I like the idea of having the opportunity to make fun of the idea of the Indian as a sidekick - which has always been (the case) throughout the history of Hollywood, the Native American has always been a second-class, third-class, fourth-class citizen, and I don't see Tonto that way at all. So it's an opportunity for me to salute Native Americans."
