Thought of as a pretty massive production for years, it seems that Disney is finally getting wind of the potential stack of cash it will cost to make the Gore Verbinski’s Lone Ranger and they aren’t too happy.

Back in 2008, it was announced and promoted that Johnny Depp was attached to the project as Tonto, and more recently The Social Network’s Armie Hammer was attached to play the lead role. It seems that if the film can’t get to a more reasonable budget, there may not be a Lone Ranger–at least not for a while.

From what Variety has to say, it looks like the film isn’t completely dead, just in a state of adjustment.

Despite reports that Disney has pulled the plug on the bigscreen adaptation, the pic is far from dead at the studio, sources close to the production told Variety.

From the people that brought properties like Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Carribbean to the world of LEGOs, it looks like they’re getting into the spirit of Comic-Con with a brand new announcement of LEGO Super Heroes, which takes place.

The new LEGO DC Universe SUPER HEROES collection will feature 13 iconic super heroes in LEGO minifigure form, including: Batman™, Robin™, Catwoman™, The Joker, The Riddler™, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn™, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman™, Lex Luthor™ and Wonder Woman™. Buildable characters will include Batman, The Joker and Green Lantern.

So now you can add to your favorite LEGO collections with a bit of a DC flair and even make some of your favorite DC heroes using the old mix and match LEGO technique.

Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

Let’s get started!

• After 13 years of production and impatient waiting, it looks like Duke Nukem Forever is finally hitting shelves very soon. So soon that the first launch trailer has hit and already has us salivating.

• As if the laws in Tennessee weren’t crazy enough, a new law has passed making it illegal for people to share Netflix accounts. Bring on the legal grey area debates!

• Green Lantern: Emerald Knights hits stores next Tuesday, but if you can’t wait that long, we totally understand. Here’s a way to win a free copy so you can spend that money on important things like tickets to Green Lantern in theaters.

• What happens when you mix classic horror and cult films with well-known cereal brands? The epicness of the Cereal Killers trading cards from Eye Wax. Names like “Clockword Porridge” and “Zomb’a Crunch” are enough to get us to buy several boxes.

• Just in time for the possibly huge release of X-Men: First Class, contributor Wally has put together a pretty comprehensive list of the Top 5 X-Men Video Games. Sadly, Marvel Ultimate Alliance doesn’t make the cut.

• In nerdy business news, Groupon has filed for an IPO, allowing it to become publicly traded. Rumor has it, there will even be a Groupon deal for stocks…

Box office analysts expected this weekend to be a pretty huge draw, bringing in families with Kung Fu Panda 2 and everyone else with The Hangover Part 2. Nobody, however, expected the R-rated sequel to The Hangover to pull in over $100 Million since Thursday.

That’s precisely what happened, as Todd Phillips’ film grossed roughly $137 Million since Thursday in the domestic box office and pulled in just under $200 Million worldwide.

Also hitting theaters this weekend, Kung Fu Panda 2 opened to good box office grosses, just not as impressive. The Dreamworks sequel pulled in an estimated $68 Million locally and upwards of $125 Million worldwide.

In third place for the weekend, Pirates 4 dropped off over 50% since last weekend, bringing in an estimated $40 Million for the weekend. This may sound low, but it helps top the film off at $634 Million worldwide over the 10 days. Not too shabby.

Also opening this weekend is Terence Malick’s Tree of Life, which only hit 4 theaters across the country, and still managed to pull in roughly $373,000, which averages out to nearly $100,000 per theater.

Next weekend we’ve got another heavy hitter as Fox’s X-Men: First Class hits over 3,000 theaters. Expect to see big things from that film.

Here we are, week 3 into a seemingly never-ending summer of huge named blockbusters, and the first film to come close to $100 million in the domestic box office is the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

With a budget of nearly $250 million, the film opened wide this weekend to over 4,100 screens across the country and pulled in an estimated $90.1 million since Friday. Not to mention its overseas numbers, which totaled in over $250 million worldwide.

Coming in behind the film, Bridesmaids only went down $4 million from last weekend’s $26 million to an estimated $21 million. This is a perfect example of word-of-mouth helping a film out, as the marketing normally dies down after the first weekend of a film’s release.

Doing less impressive, Paramount’s Thor lost half of its totals from last weekend, bringing it in at third with an estimated $15.5 million. Worry not, however, as the film has brought in nearly $400 million worldwide since its release date.

Saturday marked the special Mother’s Day season finale of Saturday Night Live, with special guest host Tina Fey. Fey did a pretty solid job, considering how very pregnant she is and the fact that she didn’t even sit in to do Weekend Update (WTF?). One skit that definitely stood out in the night was a brand new song from Andy Samberg’s Lonely Island.

From the guys who brought us “Motherlover” last Mother’s Day, Samberg (alongside Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone) have added one more legendary singer to the list with Akon, T-Pain, and Justin Timberlake. That artist? The Legendary Michael Bolton.

In their newest single, The Lonely Island try to tote their coolness and how “gangsta” they are, when all Michael Bolton wants to sing about is his newest film obsession: Captain Jack Sparrow.

Check out the music video after the jump, and pick up the new song on iTunes here.

We hinted at it a while back, but now it looks like it’s officially news, as Pirates of the Carribbean helmer Gore Verbinski will be taking on the adventure of The Lone Ranger for Disney. Deadline has the scoop.

Still no word on when the film will begin production or who’ll play the Lone Ranger. Verbinski had been looking around for his next job after completing his first animated film as a director in Rango, which Paramount Pictures distributes next year.

While there’s no word on who will play the masked avenger, there is already strong rumors the Johnny Depp will be taking on the role of Tonto. This news came through months ago when both Verbinski and Bruckheimer were first rumored to be attached to the film.

That theory would go along nicely with the fact that Verbinski’s Rango, which he is currently wrapping up, stars Depp as the voice of the main character.

Also a rumor around the time of Depp was the idea that George Clooney would be playing The Lone Ranger. No word whether this is still an option, but if he’s in the running for Soderbergh’s Man From U.N.C.L.E., then you can expect him to pass on Ranger.

Now that Rob Marshall has settled in and Disney has confirmed that Johnny Depp will be returning for the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean, currently entitled On Stranger Tides, the studio is now looking to fill the cast with other well-known actors to keep the financial ball rolling.

First news on that front was that Penelope Cruz would be joining as Jack Sparrow’s new squeeze. More news is coming in that Ian McShane, the man who made swearing an art form on the series Deadwood, is currently in negotiations to play the pirate Black Beard.

The actor is best known for Deadwood, but has also been seen in other great projects such as NBC’s short-lived Kings, and the Andy Samberg comedy Hot Rod. The British actor was last seen in the film 44-inch Chest.

No word yet when we will get official word on McShane’s involvement with the film, but with other great actors such as Geoffrey Rush and Bill Nighy taking parts in the film, this seems to be right in line with that pattern.

What are your thoughts on Ian McShane as Black Beard? Who else would you like to see in the next Pirates film? Sound off in our comments below.

We’ve been trying to cover the brand new Disney epic from the creators of the Pirates of The Carribbean trilogy, with the little promotional material that the studio has already released. That seems to have changed in the past few days, as the first trailer for the film has finally hit the ‘net.

The film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Star Trek’s Gemma Aterton, is based on the classic action/adventure video game about a A rogue prince who reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious princess and together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time—a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

The film is directed by Mike Newell, director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and also stars Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina. Check out the first full trailer, thanks to our friends at Trailer Addict, after the jump. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time hits theaters May 28th, 2010.