Cowboys and Aliens Movie Cast, Plot and Everything to Know

A 19th-century gunslinger (Daniel Craig) unites townspeople, outlaws and a band of Apache warriors against an extraterrestrial threat.

Plot

What's the story about?

Plot

1875. New Mexico Territory. A stranger (Daniel Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). It's a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors—all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

Cited as official plot version from universalpictures.com

Action Adventure Drama Sci-Fi Western

Top Cast

The lead cast starring in Cowboys and Aliens.

• 
  Daniel Craig

  ... Jake Lonergan

  Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

• 
  Olivia Wilde

  ... Ella

  Drinking Buddies, In Time

• 
  Harrison Ford

  ... Col. Woodrow Dolarhyde

  Captain America: Brave New World, 42

• 
  Noah Ringer

  ... Emmett

  The Last Airbender

• 
  Sam Rockwell

  ... Doc

  The Bad Guys 2, Argylle

• P
  Paul Dano

  ... Percy

  The Batman, Prisoners

• K
  Keith Carradine

  Afraid, Laws of Man

• C
  Clancy Brown

  The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, John Wick: Chapter 4

• A
  Adam Beach

  A Warrior's Heart, Diablo

• 
  Abigail Spencer

  This Means War, The Haunting in Georgia

Crew Behind the Film

The Cowboys and Aliens behind-the-scenes crew and production team.

The film's director Jon Favreau last directed The Lion King and The Jungle Book. The film's writer Mark Fergus last wrote Akira and Nocturne.

Director

Jon Favreau

Screenwriters

Mark Fergus
Hawk Ostby
Alex Kurtzman

Producers

Brian Grazer
Ron Howard
Alex Kurtzman
Roberto Orci
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg

Production Details

What we know about the Cowboys and Aliens movie production.

Key Facts

• Cowboys and Aliens is based on the Image Comics graphic novel written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley. That graphic novel was published in 2006, but Hollywood has been hot for the high concept project since the movie was first acquired by Universal and DreamWorks in 1997. That sale was made based on a one-sheet of a cowboy and a space ship, with Steve Oedekerk aboard to write and direct. The project subsequently moved to Columbia Pictures and Escape Artists, and then back to Universal and DreamWorks, and the script has been through at least seven writers or writer teams.

Production Updates for Cowboys and Aliens

Jun 2011

Completed

Changed Cowboys and Aliens movie production status. The movie is ready for release.

Sep 2010

Post-Production

Changed the movie production status to Post-Production. The movie is now in the editing and finishing stages.

Jun 2010

Production

Changed the movie production status to Production. The movie is currently being filmed.

Jan 2010

Pre-Production

Changed the movie production status to Pre-Production. Preparations are underway to start production.

Nov 2008

Development

Changed the movie production status to Development. The movie is likely in scripting, budgeting, or stuck in "development hell."

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Additional Information

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