Jon Favreau & Robert Downey Jr. Might Play 'Cowboys & Aliens.'

Back in June of 2008, Robert Downey Jr. was basking in the glow of "Iron Man," and basically had the pick of the project litter. One of these that he was eyeing — aside from the Hugh Hefner biopic by fauxteur Brett Ratner that seems to have gone dormant, stalled or just quiet — was a pulpy sci-fi western, "Cowboys & Aliens" which was said to have franchiseability.

This April, RDJ suggested he was probably leaving the project, but producers and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (the writers behind "Star Trek" and "Transformers 1 & 2") said a month later they were still pursuing him.

Call it the anatomy of Hollywood development and ebb and flow of interest. Downey seems to be back on board and he might be bringing "Iron Man 1 & 2" director Jon Favreau with him according to Dealmemo. What does this mean for "Iron Man 3"? Will they wait a few years? What about "The Avengers" which Favs has expressed a lot of interest in?

It seems a lot might be an overstatement. Favreau is evidently "circling" the project (aka sniffing around) which will be produced by powerhouse team Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg. Apparently a summer 2010 production start is tentatively on the calendar and the film is "set in the Old West, where cowboys and Native Americans battle in Arizona, until a space ship crashes and a new enemy emerges, equipped with superior technology."

This is the point of the story where we remind everyone how awful the sci-fi western "Wild Wild West" was. There's also talk of "Iron Man 3" in the article, but only that RDJ and Favreau will probably team-up once again for that one, so presumably, 'C & A' won't interfere. Last we checked, "Iron Man 3" was supposed to hit in 2012, so we guess there's no conflict. "Cowboys & Aliens," by the guys who wrote "Transformers" but yet, with the director and star of "Iron Man," hmmm... Maybe even they just rewrite the script on set?