In an effort to allay any fears that the upcoming and hotly anticipated screen adaptation of Cowboys and Aliens bears a resemblance to such disposable Western mash-ups as Wild Wild West, screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Robert Ocri (Star Trek, Fringe) are letting it be known that the joke’s not on anyone – especially the aliens. “It’s not a comedy,” says Kurtzman. “What we came to is imagine you’re watching ‘Unforgiven’ and then the aliens from ‘Alien’ land.” After knocking skeptics on their ass with the spot-on Stark Trek franchise reboot, I’m inclined to believe what these guys say and hop right onto the bandwagon.
The duo is tight-lipped about any specific deviations from the graphic novel, but the project, with its stellar collaborative zeal, seems to be taking buzz-worthy shape. There’s Jon “Iron Man” Favreau behind the camera, Robert Downey Jr. in front of it, and Lost show-runner Damon Lindelof helping with the adaptation; if audiences take the bait, the project has the potential to both revive the Western genre and give a little intergalactic street cred back to movie aliens.