If there is one up and coming director that we are watching closely, it is Rian Johnson. He came out of nowhere with Brick in 2005, a movie that was exceptional, no matter your expectations. As well, his sophomore effort The Brothers Bloom just got done with a very successful run at the Toronto Film Festival. And now that he’s done high school noir and comedy, he appears to want to move on to futuristic sci-fi movie called Looper.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Looper is set in a present-day world in which a group of hitmen are sent their victims from the future. Johnson himself compared it to the work of Philip K. Dick and the first Terminator film, telling /Film’s Peter Sciretta that it is going to be “really violent and dark.” And speaking of /Film, Johnson also dropped them a line this morning to let them know that there is much, much more to Looper than the Hollywood Reporter’s plot logline would suggest. In fact, the film isn’t just about time-traveling hitmen.
To be honest, I remember feeling the same sort of anxiety about another, somewhat similar project about a year and a half ago when Doug Liman was attached to Jumper. You have a great sci-fi concept and a proven director — all that is left now is execution, which is where Jumper missed the boat. I have faith though, that Johnson can pull it off. Looper is scheduled to begin principal photography next year.
What do you think of Rian Johnson’s next project?