On a budget of $163 million, filming for Cowboys & Aliens began in June 2010, in New Mexico and California. After the graphic novel was published in 2006, development on the film was begun again, and Favreau signed on as director in September 2009. The project began development in April 1997, when Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures bought film rights to a concept pitched by Rosenberg, former president at Malibu Comics, which he described as a graphic novel in development. The film was produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Kurtzman, Orci, and Rosenberg, with Steven Spielberg and Favreau serving as executive producers. The screenplay was written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby, based on a screen story by the latter two along with Steve Oedekerk.
The plot revolves around an amnesiac outlaw (Craig), a wealthy cattleman (Ford), and a mysterious traveler (Wilde) who must ally to save a group of townspeople abducted by aliens. The film is based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Cowboys & Aliens is a 2011 American science fiction Western film directed by Jon Favreau and starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde.
