Release Date Set For Craig's 'Cowboys and Aliens'

While we wait for news on the fate of MGM and the possible implications for Bond 23, James Bond star Daniel Craig remains a very busy actor. He is currently on location shooting a ghostly thriller and will soon combine the Wild West with extraterrestial visitors.

According to 'Variety', Universal Studios have announced that 'Cowboys and Aliens', a new DreamWorks production with 007 star Craig and co-starring Olivia Wilde, will be released on 29 July, 2011. Craig's turn at gun-slinging and dodging arrows in the Wild West will involve a very different angle on the Western genre, as the script sees conflict between Western Settlers and native Apache Indians interrupted by the arrival of a crashed alien spaceship.

The unusual Sci-Fi film is based on a 2006 cult graphic novel by Fred Van Lente, which sees the two warring sides combine forces to deal with the alien visitors. Craig plays Zeke (or 'Jake') Jackson, the main hero. The movie will be directed by Jon Favreau.

Meanwhile, Craig has been hard at work on the set of his new supernatural thriller 'Dream House', directed by Irish director Jim Sheridan and based on a script by David Loucka. Craig stars as a New York publishing executive who wants a new life for his family. Locations on the film, which started pre-production in January and commenced main filming in February, have included Oakville, Ontario, and location photos from the set appeared in the 'New York Times' and on the internet in early February and, again, on the web in early March.

The Bond actor has been joined in the film by British actress Rachel Weisz as his wife (most recently seen in Peter Jackson's 'The Lovely Bones') and also by Naomi Watts. The eerie story revolves around the ghostly experiences of a married couple (played by Craig and Weisz) who relocate to a quiet New England home with their two daughters, only to discover that their new idyllic house was once the scene of the gruesome murder of a mother and her two children. Watts plays a neighbour of the couple.

The film is being backed by Morgan Creek and Universal Studios, and is due for release in 2011.