Jon Favreau: 'Daniel Craig is a badass hero'

Jon Favreau has revealed that he cast Daniel Craig in Cowboys & Aliens because he can play a "badass hero".

The film, which is a modern update of the classic Western, co-stars Harrison Ford as one of the residents of the desert town attacked by aliens.

Craig is to play the gun-toting stranger who becomes the only hope the town has of fighting off the unknown forces.

Speaking to Latino Review, Favreau said: "Though Daniel Craig has never been a Western gunfighter, he has been James Bond. He has been the lead in crime dramas, like Layer Cake.

"He understands the nature of what it is to be a badass hero."

The actor replaced Robert Downey Jr last year in the sci-fi drama, after the latter dropped out to star in the sequel to Sherlock Holmes.