Middle Age Hollywood

I think it's safe to say that many of us who worshiped Harrison Ford in the 1980s and 1990s have been a little disappointed with his output in recent years. The man of Crossing Over and Extraordinary Measures isn't really the man you loved for two decades solid, is it? (We aren't going to talk about that Crystal Skull. Nope. Pretend it didn't happen.) But there's a very, very good chance the fun Ford might be back again, because he's just signed on to star alongside Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde in Cowboys & Aliens.

Set in Arizona in the 1800s, Cowboys & Aliens begins when a battle between Apaches and cowboys is interrupted by the arrival of an alien craft whose commander wants to enslave mankind, and the two warring factions must join forces to defeat the invaders. Latino Review first ran the casting scoop a few days ago, and director Jon Favreau confirmed it on Twitter today. As Craig will be playing the lead cowboy, Zeke Jackson, it's not clear who Ford will be playing. I'm guessing it's a cowboy though, and not an alien or an Apache.

This is really exciting news. Cowboys & Aliens sounds like a fun concept, and it keeps attracting big names (Robert Downey Jr. was onboard before Sherlock Holmes 2 took him away), which gives me a lot of hope that it isn't total camp. (Don't point out that Wild Wild West had big names, too. I'm looking on the bright side!) I suppose you could worry that two sardonic leads could cause everyone (including those two cool customers) to overcompensate on zaniness, but Favreau seems to be able to rein in manic temptations. Besides, it's a sci-fi western. We haven't had one of those in ages (Serenity aside). And it's going to star Craig and Ford. I'm looking forward to it. You should too.

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