Harrison Ford joins Cowboys & Aliens

Harrison Ford’s last clash with extraterrestrials (at the climax of Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull ) was met with guffaws and gurns alike.

But we imagine he’ll have better luck with Cowboys & Aliens , which he officially signed on to yesterday.

On Tuesday, rumours circulated that Ford was set to sign on. But leave it to Jon Favreau to break the news proper, on his ever-popular Twitter feed.

Said Favs: “Please stop asking if Harrison Ford is in Cowboys & Aliens . Okay? He is. Please don’t tell anybody.”

So... hurrah! Harrison Ford’s looked a little bit lost these past years, signing on to over-sentimental, throwaway slop like Extraordinary Measures , Crossing Over and, yes, Indie 4 .

But the 68-year-old never seems happier than when he’s embarking on adrenaline-fuelled adventures in fantastic settings. Which makes Cowboys & Aliens a perfect project.

Who’ll he play? Bets are on that it’ll be Alan Cross, the head of the Silver City Homesteader’s Bureau. And we’re guessing he’ll get to ride horses while shooting rifles at aliens – unless that’s left to Daniel Craig’s main hero.

Shooting begins this summer with Favs behind the camera, and the film is set for a 29 July 2011 release.

Could this be a killer cowboy comeback for Ford?

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.