15 Films You Didn't Realise Were Based On Comic Books

7. Cowboys & Aliens

A History of Violence
Universal

Cowboys & Aliens is a western where an amnesiac drifter stumbles upon a town who are at war with invaders from outer space. Now, the title and premise for Cowboys & Aliens sounds so crazy, it's surprising that people don't realise its based on a comic series.

Having said that, the film has little in common with the source material. Even though Native Americans play a pivotal part in the original story, they were removed from the film (which is ironic because the alien invasion is an unmistakable allegory for how the Settlers took over America.)

Bizarrely, the film rights for Cowboys & Aliens were bought... nine years before the comic was written! (Why a studio thought a movie called "Cowboys & Aliens" would be a financial success is also anyone's guess.)

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows