Why Jon Favreau is Tackling Cowboys & Aliens

Source: Edward Douglas

April 26, 2010

With the excitement and anticipation for Iron Man 2 building on a daily basis, director Jon Favreau is clearly in very high demand these days, so it was very cool for him (and Paramount) to make time to talk to ComingSoon.net/SuperHeroHype earlier today.

As a preview of our interview with unquestionably the coolest filmmaker on Twitter, we're going to share a little of what he had to say about his next project, Cowboys & Aliens, and a tease for the possibilities of him returning for Iron Man 3.

Favreau's next project is based on the Platinum Studios graphic novel by Scott Rosenberg, although that wasn't necessarily what appealed to the director. "The property isn't what was appealing to me as much as the concept and the script," he told us. "I read a great script and I loved the idea of mashing up those two genres and juxtaposing a very intense alien movie up against a very sincerely played Western. We draw inspiration tonally from movies like 'Close Encounters' and 'Alien' and 'Predator' for the alien side and for the Western side we're looking at John Ford, Leone, and even a little bit of 'Butch and Sundance.'

"Once again, I've been very lucky in exceeding all my expectations in getting Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde," he continued. "We're slowly assembling a cast around this property, and I want to do something mind-blowing and it's a great way to do a Western. I've always dreamed of doing a Western, and this seems like a way that's actually responsible from a marketing standpoint, doing an alien invasion Western seems like something very unique and different in the summer next year, which is going to be all superhero movies and sequels. Seems like an exciting thing that might actually emerge as something unique and different. It's a fun ride and it's a chance to do something that plays a little bit older and a little bit more fun."

That should take up most of the filmmaker's time in the next year, but many are already wondering whether he might return to the Marvel fold to do another Iron Man movie down the line, and after confirming that he thinks The Mandarin should be the key villain in any proposed threequel, he responded thusly, "They've asked me to be an Executive Producer on 'The Avengers' so I'll be there to help as much as the director would want me to. 'Iron Man 3' is years down the road, and that has to reflect the reality of what's been established not just in 'Iron Man 1 and 2,' but in movie time, between this film and that film, is 'The Incredible Hulk,' 'Thor,' 'Captain America,' and 'The Avengers.' I haven't had to inherit anybody else's backstory yet--it's just simply what we chose to use or not use from the comic books--so I'm feeling like I'm passing the baton and after all those movies are done, it's time to sit down and discuss if there's something I can bring to it, if it's something we want to do together, but that's way down the road."

We'll have the rest of our exclusive interview with Favreau later this week as Iron Man 2 rolls out across the globe (click here for worldwide release dates). Cowboys & Aliens is scheduled for a release on July 29, 2011.