A movie with the title “Cowboys & Aliens” –- a science-fiction twist on the classic cowboys and indians story –- may sound like a hilariously ridiculous action-comedy.

But director Jon Favreau tells Entertainment Weekly that his upcoming blockbuster is not that kind of a movie. In fact, he’s hoping that audiences will go in to see a straight western ... with aliens.

“There’s a level of fun, but that doesn’t mean we have to wink,” Favreau said. “The characters aren’t having fun, but the audience is.”

Still, Favreau realizes that the road to “Cowboys & Aliens” being taken seriously by critics and audiences alike isn’t exactly an easy one.

“People are getting used to what it is now, they’re aware of the title, and we want to show them it’s an adventure,” Favreau said. “We wanted to maintain the integrity of both genres, and focus on a specific aspect of the alien genre which mostly revolves around the films of the ’80s that I grew up with.”

Having Steven Spielberg, the man behind “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “ET: The Extra-Terrestrial,” as an executive producer can’t hurt in those regards. And if nothing else, Favreau seems to be genuinely excited about his project finally hitting the big screen.

“For me the first [trailer] was like, ‘Holy shit, these things are coming! What are they?’”

Hopefully moviegoers feels the same way.

“Cowboys & Aliens” stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde. It comes out July 29.