The smoke signals came all at once back in mid 2007 regarding a Jonah Hex Film, started of by an item at  Hollywoodreporter.com which stated … film makers Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor  on board to adapt. Andrew Lazar is producing via his Mad Chance Prods., as is Akiva Goldsman.

Latinoreview has a review of the script, and collider.com has Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor in exclusive video interviews from Wizard World.

To Watch online and download Jonah Hex http://www.movie25.tk/movies/jonah%20hex%202010.html

In an interview with the film makers during Comic-Con ..Neveldine confirmed that they have completed a first draft and “we’re really excited about (the project).” He revealed that their take on the Western bounty hunter will be influenced by “the [Joe R.] Lansdale series, definitely. The movie that we’re — we’ve pretty much wrote it — but we’re writing is going to be the introduction to Jonah Hex. So we’re incorporating a lot of stuff but we’re bringing in, of course, Quentin Turnbull. It’s almost like a double revenge story. They’re both justified in their own revenge. That’s what’s so great about Jonah Hex in this movie. And again we get to play with an anti-hero.” Rep orts in April 2008 indicate the script has been finished. IMDB lists a release date in 2010.

This might be connected to the 104-page first draft of a script by William Farmer (dated January 13th, 1997) that was reviewed a few years back by The Stax Report, as Andrew Lezar was rumoured to be connected to it at the time. There was also talk of a TV series that went to development hell.

Variety reported in late November 08 that Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor had dropped out as directors of the film due to “creative differences”. Storyboards from their time on the project, illustrated by Martin Mercer, can be seen on their website…

The producers were then looking for a replacment, with the director of the Punisher: War Zone – Lexi Alexander – mentioning that she was one of several prospective directors reading the script at the beginning of December.

In early January 2009 the hollywoodreporter.com announced that Jimmy Hayward, who directed the animated Horton Hears a Who!, will make his live-action debut on Jonah Hex.

According to an an interview with Brolin at collider.com Brolin was contacted by Hayward via e-mail with a pitch, which lead to a face to face meeting and eventually to Brolin suggesting Hayward as director to the studio.

In February 2009 it was reported that John Malkovich had taken on the role of villain Quentin Turnbull, the wealthy Southern plantation owner as in comics who falsely blames Hex for the death of his son.

In early March Empire Magazine reported that Megan Fox …will take a supporting role in the Jimmy Hayward-directed movie as Leila, a gunslinger who provides the love interest for Josh Brolin’s scarred bounty hunter. John Malkovich will play a voodoo priest who wants to raise an army of the undead with a view to liberating the South. »more»

Photographs of Megan Fox dressed as a salon girl drew some attention in April 2009. In an interview in May she described the film as …a post Civil War apocalyptic type of situation about this cowboy who has the ability to talk to dead people. »more»
Civil war era boat

Comicbookmovie.com reported that production workers spent about three weeks building a unique boat in the waters off Bayou Gauche, and filming took place from May 11 to May 15.

Filming took place at Fort Pike for two months in May and June, with the production team helping the museum with its long post Katrina repairs by donating some of the set props and painting the interior, the sally port and the citadel for them.

By the time of the Comic Con press convererence the Director was at pains to combat the idea that the film would have a supernatural focus…

I don’t know where the voodoo practitioner raising the army of the undead came from, but that has nothing to do with the film. John Malkovich’s character is more of a terrorist who’s upset about the Civil War than he is someone who’s trying to fight and re-win the Civil War.

I think Jonah Hex, he’s been shot so many times, the legend is he’s got one foot in the grave and one foot here on Earth, and so we approach it by everybody else’s version of who Jonah Hex is.