Hot off their work together in this week’s highly anticipated release of the summer movie season-starting Iron Man 2, director Jon Favreau and Sam Rockwell are set to continue working together immediately.

Rockwell has been cast in the DreamWorks adaptation of the graphic novel Cowboys & Aliens, which is set to become Favreau’s next project. The actor will play Doc, a bar owner who gets involved in the mysterious alien invasion of 19th century Arizona, right in the middle of an ongoing dispute between the cowboys and Apache Indians.

The film — which originally had Doc as a heavier gentleman — was written by Star Trek and Transformers scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, as well as Lost writer and producer Damon Lindelof. When the writers found out that Rockwell — who’s not a heavier gentleman — was interested in joining the project, the writing team made sure to make alterations wherever necessary so that he was able to play the role.

With this, it can officially be stated that Cowboys & Aliens does in fact have an awesome cast. Originally, Robert Downey Jr. was going to also stick with Favreau and play the lead here, but sadly, he had to step away. This left the door open for James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, to step in. While the involvement of Downey Jr. is always a benefit to your movie, Craig is a pretty effective replacement to grab.

Other confirmed cast includes Olivia Wilde (Alpha Dog, Tron: Legacy), and the legendary Harrison Ford, who was recently confirmed by the director himself.

[Source: Heat Vision]