Joseph Gordon-Levitt Circling Lead Roles in Two New Action-Thrillers

Did I call it? Did I call it? Or…did I call it? Sorry for that, but I’ve been saying for a long time now that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on the brink of becoming a superstar.  JGL first came on to our radars back in the 1996 alien sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. Since then, he’s put together an impressive portfolio of fantastic performances, mainly in low-budget indie films, most notably Brick and The Lookout. Then last year, he broke into the mainstream with the awesome romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer, even receiving a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. And of course, you all know he stars along Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception this summer. Now, JGL is getting projects thrown at him left and right, two of which he is in negotiations to star. Find out what they are after the jump.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog has the exclusive scoop that JGL is in final negotiations to star in Premium Rush, a “Columbia “chase thriller” being directed by David Koepp. Koepp is a straight up juggernaut screenwriter, having written the scripts for War of the Worlds, Angels & Demons, Spider-Man, Mission Impossible, Jurassic Park, and the list goes on, and on, and on. Koepp also has several directing credits under his belt, including the Johnny Depp-starring adaptation of Stephen King’s Secret Window. So needless to say, this project is almost a guaranteed hit.

Premium Rush sees JGL as a New York bike messenger who picks up an envelope at Columbia University, only to be chased throughout the city by a dirty cop desperate to get his hands on it. No word yet on who else will be cast or when production is set to begin, but the film is slated to be released sometime in 2011.

JGL also seems to be the top candidate to star in Looper, which would re-team him with Brick director Rian Johnson. Looper is a sci-fi action-thriller set during a future in which time travel has been invented, with operatives sent back to the present to assassinate criminals. Gordon-Levitt will play a man sent back to kill himself. Holy crap! How awesome does that sound? Again, no word on casting, production or even a release date for Looper, but stay tuned in the coming months for official announcements.

What’d I tell you? Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on his way to becoming the next Leo or Tom Cruise.

What Do You Think? Discuss.