Check out some cool new images from the set of Rian Johnson’s time-travel thriller Looper

Upstart director Rian Johnson is two for two so far in my book, having knocked it out of the park with his 2005 feature debut BRICK, and then later in 2008 with the under-appreciated THE BROTHERS BLOOM. So like many of you, I eagerly await his next film, the sci-fi time-travel thriller LOOPER.

To tide us over till its 2012 release, a bunch of cool new on-set stills have appeared over at LOOPER’s Tumblr (via the film’s star Joseph Gordon-Levitt). They’re a little artsy, a little stark, and all very mysterious. Enough to whet the appetite and spur our imaginations on just what the f*ck this trippy-sounding flick might end up showing us.

LOOPER stars JGL, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, and Paul Dano, as well as the recently cast Noah Segan, Jeff Daniels, Piper Perabo, and Xu Qing.

Synopsis: A present-day killer works for the mob of the future. He, along with other so-called “Loopers”, dispose of people sent from the future to eliminate evidence of a crime. When he recognizes one victim as his future self, he hesitates, letting the man escape.