Favreau, Ford Ride Into Town With ‘Cowboys & Aliens’

Favreau & posse unload their wild Western/sci-fi ride — and Harrison Ford

A real-life stabbing in the back of the San Diego Convention Center’s Hall H delayed the return of Simon Pegg’s “Paul” and Jon Favreau’s "Cowboys and Aliens" at Comic-Con on Saturday, that was soon forgotten by the cheering fans when the “Iron Man 2” director came out at 6:05PM to the sounds of — who else? — AC/DC.

The reigning King of Comic-con may have brought “Cowboys & Aliens” to San Diego, but his real coup de grace was bringing Harrison Ford with him.

You’d think with a Han Solo or a Indiana Jones under his belt, the screen legend would have graced Comic-con before. But Saturday’s appearance in a packed-to-the-gills Hall H was the first time Ford has ever been here.

If today’s thunderous, squealing reception is any indication, it shouldn't be his last.

Last year, Favreau wowed the fanboys and girls with “Iron Man 2,” this year the director had to tease ‘em out a bit more – after all, he has only been shooting “Cowboys & Aliens,” which comes out on July 29, 2011, for a few weeks.

This year, the crowd-pleaser just had a bit of footage but he brought Ford, Daniel Craig, Sam Rockwell, and Olivia Wilde along and that was spectacle enough. Plus, once the lights dimmed and the scene of a jailed and grizzled Craig, looking very Steve McQueen, a horseback-riding, gun-wielding Ford and an alien attack with more explosions than Tony Stark’s birthday parties, Favreau turned up the volume and anticipation.

“We’ve only been shooting for a month,” the director told the cheering crowd about what they had just seen, “ but we had to have something big and special for Comic-con.”

If Favreau was the King and Han Solo was the man of the hour, James Bond wasn’t that far behind. In the few questions fans got to ask, Craig kept getting queries about when the next 007 flick was coming. “I’m ready,” the British actor drawled.

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