Iron Man team Robert Downey, Jr. and director Jon Favreau may be reteaming for a third movie, this time based on the graphic novel Cowboys and Aliens, according to Variety. The producing team is strictly big league, with Imagine Entertainment’s Ron Howard and Brian Grazer producing along with Steven Spielberg, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, and JJ Abrams’ regular go-to guys, Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci. Favreau has only recently begun to circle the project. Downey has been attached since last summer.
Not surprisingly, Kurtzman and Orci are currently rewriting the script.
The graphic novel, by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley, is set in the American West in the 1880’s, where a battle between cowboys and Native Americans is interrupted by the sudden crash-landing of an alien spacecraft. Although the graphic novel was published in 2006, Variety reports that the movie has been in development for longer than that, moving between several studios and writing teams. Currently, a summer 2010 start of principal photography is contemplated.
Those of us who have long-speculated that the way to revive the western is to find a modern, high concept story idea, like Disney successfully did with Pirates of the Caribbean and the swashbuckler, can only feel vindicated. The idea is outrageous enough to work.
Favreau and Downey are both contractually committed to Iron Man 3. Iron Man 2 is scheduled for a May 10, 2010 opening, amidst new rumors that the film may be released in digital 3D. AICN reports that one minute of footage from the new sequel has been converted to digital 3D, that the results are jaw-droppingly impressive, and that Marvel Studios and Paramount (and now presumably, Disney) are shopping for bids to convert the entire film to 3D.
Brave new world indeed.
Comments
A scifi western sounds fun. As long as the Indians get to kick alien ass.
I think it just all sounds fantastic! RDJ does most of his own stunts, so it'll be fun to see him kick alien butt. He's a great and extremely talented actor. There's nothing like seeing an actor go from action, to comedy, to action-adventure-mystery, to drama, back to action, now he's doing comedy again in Due Date, then action again. Fantastic. I love watching Robert Downey Jr. I think Cowboys and Aliens will be fantastic!
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