Although he had Johnny Depp at his side and the producing-directing team of Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski at his back, Armie Hammer faced considerable pressure for "The Lone Ranger." Specifically, Hammer said that he was very aware of the legacy of the character whose mask he had to wear.

"If you'll pardon the expression, they're big boots to fill," Hammer told MTV News. "My dad was a big fan, and I know how special the Lone Ranger is to him. To his parents, even more so. My mom's parents, they grew up in Oklahoma. It was a big part of life then. So we wanted to be careful and respectful to those people, and at the same time, we wanted to introduce this movie in a fun way to a new generation as well."

Before Hammer was cast, Johnny Depp had already been announced in the role of Tonto, a character whom the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor would be reinterpreting significantly for the film. Hammer said that his co-star completed much of his character work before he even joined the production. "It was funny -- he did a lot of the work on Tonto before I ever became involved with the project," he said. "So for me, I saw the pictures, I saw what was going on, but I had no idea what to expect."

"To see him on set doing the thing and how different and amazing Tonto was compared to the TV show, it was great."

"The Lone Ranger" opens in theaters nationwide July 3.