Lone Ranger separate owners and the familial link has been ignored in the Western character's various incarnations. The Lone Ranger – Green Hornet connection is part of Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe, which connects disparate fictional characters. Republic Pictures released two serials starring the Lone Ranger. The first, released in 1938, utilized several actors playing different men portraying the masked hero, with the true Lone Ranger unknown to the audience until the conclusion; the character played by Lee Powell is ultimately revealed to be the Lone Ranger. The second serial, "The Lone Ranger Rides Again", was released in 1939 and starred
Lone Ranger the target audience of the network. In 2013, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films released "The Lone Ranger", starring Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Johnny Depp as Tonto. Directed by Gore Verbinski, the film is an origin story of the two characters and explores the duo's efforts to subdue the immoral actions of the corrupt, and to bring them to justice, in the American Old West. The film, produced with an estimated budget of $225 million, was received negatively by American critics and performed poorly at the box office. The series also inspired numerous comic books, books,