Well, that’s all, folks…Robert Downey Jr. has left the building. He will NOT, apparently, be part of the filming of Cowboys and Aliens, the surprisingly succinct title for the surprisingly straight forward story of rampaging aliens coming to earth in the mid 1800s or so and running afoul of cowboys.

However, Jon Favreau is still in play at last report, which means they might be looking for a new lead actor, but not necessarily scrapping the film altogether.

Will the film continue on?  It could, sure enough…or it could be dead in the water.  Word is that Downey Jr. left because he was just plain old overextended, and it’s a good thing, because the further word is that Dreamworks, who’s working the property right now, wanted to turn it into a three-picture deal, meaning that Robert Downey Jr. would be neck deep in work for years.  And frankly, with Iron Man 2 coming, the guy could use a break.

Hopefully we’ll have more on this one soon.  Keep it here!