Movie trailers and theatrical news aren’t things we cover often, but when sci-fi meets the Old West — and Harrison Ford meets Daniel Craig — we’re open to exceptions. So when Universal announced that the full-length trailer for Cowboys & Aliens was debuting tonight during American Idol, we thought we’d share the news. Because really, this is our editor’s top choice for must-see-on-opening-night blockbusters this summer.
The new trailer for Cowboys & Aliens will air during a commercial break of American Idol tonight during the results show. If you aren’t able to get enough during the show, or if you happen to miss it entirely (potty breaks be damned), head over to Apple’s Movie Trailers site immediately following the broadcast to see it in its HD glory.
Cowboys and Aliens will release July 29 in theaters nationwide.
For those who don’t know about Cowboys & Aliens, the movie crosses the classic Western film with the alien-invasion movie — and has Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard involved.
Cowboys & Aliens takes place in the Arizona Territory in the year is 1873. A stranger, played by Daniel Craig, has no memory of his past and 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, played by 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 who abduct the helpless citizens one by one.
Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation (of course). As the 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.
The script for Cowboys & Aliens is by Star Trek’s Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof (television’s Lost), based on Platinum Studios’ graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg.
But anyway, check out the new trailer tonight. It’s bound to rock.