Sequel to Johnny Depp’s Rango Can Happen on 1 Condition

Gore Verbinski, who helmed the animated western comedy movie Rango, recently spoke about what it would take for a sequel to become a reality. The original film hit theaters 15 years ago, and despite winning the Oscar for Best Animated Film, a sequel never materialized. The film is notable for being Verbinski’s only feature-length animated film to date. It features Johnny Depp as the voice of the title character alongside a supporting cast that includes Isla Fisher, Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Bill Nighy, and Alfred Molina, among others.

Gore Verbinski on how Rango 2 could happen

In a recent interview, director Gore Verbinski spoke about how Rango had been made on a budget that was typical for “big animated movies.”

“We went after the big animated movies… we were in the range of the big animated movies,” Verbinski told Dexerto. He mentioned this was why he hasn’t made a sequel, noting that replicating the process of the original movie was going to be “hard.” “I don’t even know how to do that,” he added. “Because that was such a strange, fortuitous set of circumstances. It would be hard to repeat.”

Stressing potential budget issues, he added, “Somebody needs to suggest that to me,” he stated. “Somebody with a checkbook!”

In 2017, during a Reddit AMA to promote his movie, A Cure for Wellness, a fan asked the director if a Rango sequel could see the light of day. Verbinski gave a similar response, saying that he and the creatives ” put everything [they] possibly could into [the film].”

However, he has expressed interest in making a “completely different” animated film. Verbinski followed up on this by telling Collider in 2021 that he was developing two animated films with Rango’s cinematographer, two-time Oscar-winner Roger Deakins. He revealed that both films weren’t Westerns like Rango and that one of them was a musical. However, as of 2026, there have been no major updates on these films.

Rango grossed around $246 million against an estimated $135 million budget, as per Box Office Mojo. It also received positive reviews from critics, boasting a certified fresh 88% critics’ score and a solid 70% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Source: Comingsoon.net