HE'S known as Hollywood's wackiest leading men and Johnny Depp doesn't disappoint in the first picture from The Lone Ranger.

After years of delays, the big-screen version of the popular fifties show started filming last month.

And producer Jerry Bruckheimer gave fans a sneak peek at what to expect with the first photo of Armie Hammer as the Ranger and Johnny Depp as his sidekick Tonto.

Bruckheimer posted a photo from the set of the Disney film on his Twitter page on Thursday morning as teasing fans in the days leading up to it.

He wrote: "Tonto and The Lone Ranger Ride again!"

The photo shows The Social Network star Hammer, 25, in a black suit, white hat and signature black eye mask as The Lone Ranger.

Standing behind him looking rather cautious is Depp, 48, in tribal facepaint, headdress and feathers as Native American Tonto.

The pair started filming with director Gore Verbinski on location in New Mexico last month.

Brits Helena Bonham Carter and Tom Wilkinson are also tipped to star in the eagerly-anticipated film.

Last year, Depp revealed he has Native American heritage.

He said: "My great-grandmother was quite a bit of Native American, she grew up Cherokee or maybe Creek Indian. Makes sense in terms of coming from Kentucky, which is rife with Cherokee and Creek."

The Lone Ranger first appeared in a radio show in 1933, before being transferred to the black and white TV show in 1949, starring Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto.

There were two previous attempts at Lone Ranger films in 1981 and a TV movie in 2003, but they weren't received as well as expected by fans.

The film has been a long time coming; Columbia Pictures and Classic Media announced their intention to make a Lone Ranger film in 2002.

After years stuck in development, Disney announced in 2008 they had cast Depp to play Tonto.

The film is expected to be released in 2013.

滬江娛樂快訊：《獨(dú)行俠》主人公是一名戴著面具的游俠，他原本是德州騎警，在追捕一伙不法之徒時(shí)險(xiǎn)些送命，在印第安人托托（Tonto）的治療和照顧下逐漸康復(fù)，并從此戴上面具、騎著白馬和托托一起在西部曠野懲惡揚(yáng)善。迪士尼版《游俠傳奇》有點(diǎn)像從“桑丘”（Sancho Panza）角度敘述的《堂吉訶德》（Don Quixote），也就是說以印第安人托托的視角敘述。定妝照一出，粉絲們不禁嘩然：這身裝扮，就算是對于德普這樣的“個(gè)性腕兒”來說，也的確奇怪了一點(diǎn)。想到要等到2013年才能看到影片，你是不是和小編一樣心急呢？