Having completed filming on Iron Man 2, director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey JR look set to team up again on the long-gestating Cowboys And Aliens. Star Trek reboot writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are teaming up with Lost producer Damon Lindelof to provide the script.
The film was first mooted 12 years ago when Universal and Dreamworks bought the property from Platinum Studios based on a image of a cowboy being chased by an alien spaceship and the one-line pitch: “Independence Day set in the Wild West". At that point Steve Odekirk was attached to direct. Since them, it has moved studios twice (from Universal to Columbia and back to Universal again) been through numerous writers (including X-Men’s David Hayter) and even seen life a series of graphic novels starting in 2006.
Last year Downey Jr signed up to the project, but now that Favreau is on board, it looks like the film will finally be made. Shooting is expected to begin next summer.