Olivia Wilde Joins Craig in ‘Cowboys & Aliens’

Published by Jeff Leins on: February 2nd, 2010

Olivia Wilde is in negotiations to co-star with Daniel Craig in Cowboys and Aliens, a Jon Favreau-directed genre mash-up moving ahead at DreamWorks.  Robert Downey Jr. was previously attached, but was forced to drop out when scheduling conflicted with Sherlock Holmes 2.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Wilde will play Ella, a character who joins up with a mysterious gunslinger to fight off an alien invasion and probably serves as a love interest.  It’s unclear whether she’s a cowboy or an alien… or both!  The gunslinger, named Zeke Jackson, will be played by Craig who rallies local Indians to take up arms against the extra-terrestrials.

Hollywood’s go-to guys for tentpoles, Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci, wrote the script and are producing with “Lost” c0-creator Damon Lindelof.

Wilde is a regular cast member on “House” and has been extremely hot lately — in her career, of course — landing roles in the 3-D Tron Legacy and Paul Haggis’ thriller The Next Three Days with Russell Crowe, Liam Neeson, and Elizabeth Banks.

Favreau hopes to shoot the sci-fi Western this July in time for a 2011 release.