Universal Pictures announced today that eager viewers will be able to catch the first full-length trailer for Cowboys & Aliens during the April 14th episode of American Idol. So if you can’t wait to see more of the film, make sure to tune in to Fox at 8/7c on Thursday!

If, like myself, you want to avoid unnecessary exposure to crappy pop music, the trailer will be online, via Apple, shortly after airing, and I’ll make sure to cross-post it here.

Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: Cowboys & Aliens. Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers—Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci—he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.

1875. New Mexico Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors—all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

The screenplay for Cowboys & Aliens is by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, from a screen story by Fergus & Ostby and Steve Oedekerk. It is based on Platinum Studios’ “Cowboys & Aliens” by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg , written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley, with penciler Luciano Lima.

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2. Olivia Wilde to Star Opposite Daniel Craig in Cowboys and Aliens
3. Jon Favreau to Direct Robert Downey Jr. in the Movie adaptation of ‘Cowboys & Aliens’
4. Teaser Trailer Released for Cowboys & Aliens!
5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Movie Set for an April 14th Release Date