Since 2005's indie breakout Brick, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rian Johnson have enjoyed a rise to fame that few truly get to enjoy. Cementing their partnership with a cameo in The Brother's Bloom and another full on leading turn in Looper, one can't help but associate the actor with the director, and vice versa. This could mean wonderful things for Johnson's upcoming work on Star Wars: Episode VIII if history holds true.
I recently had the honor of talking with Gordon-Levitt at the New York Film Festival, as he was promoting his recent film The Walk. As any proper fan of Star Wars and Rian Johnson would do, I asked him if there was any sort of possibility that the winning team would reunite for the next chapter in a galaxy far, far away. Being a proper fan himself, his following response was all too fitting:
Of course! I knock on his door every day, and I’m like, ‘Am I in the movie yet? Am I in the movie yet? Dude! No, seriously dude. It’s important to me! I want to be in the movie!’ [Shrugs] We’ll see.
You have to understand that the preceding statement wasn't a simple plea for a chance to wield a lightsaber or a blaster and kick some ass. This was a full on charm offensive that, above all else, came straight from the heart. You can see for yourself in the clip we've provided below:
At this point you're probably thinking to yourself that not only is Joseph Gordon-Levitt joining on for a Star Wars movie a good idea, but he should be one of the good guys! Listening to the man himself speak, you wouldn't be mistaken to think that aligning him with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and newcomers Finn and Rey is the best move. However, this would be type-casting of the highest order, and given the acting chops Gordon-Levitt has displayed time and time again, it's a shameful act to not at least consider sending him to the Sith.
Roles as the anti-hero in Looper, as well as a noir-ish bad ass in Sin City: A Dame To Kill For have shown off Joseph Gordon-Levitt's darker side, and it's just as awesome as the lighter side we've seen in recent history. Giving him a mask and/or cloak, a weapon of unimaginable power, and the chance to face off with Oscar Issac are all too awesome not to imagine. It's undeniable that the hero role is one that seems to suit him just fine, but if you really want to push the man to his limits in terms of acting and villainy, then he should be cast with a role equal to the villainy of Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, or even Grand Moff Tarkin.
Of course, this is all mere speculation at this point, but even if it was just for a small Simon Pegg-esque cameo, it would be worth bringing Joseph Gordon-Levitt into the Star Wars universe. For now though, you can catch his stellar work in Robert Zemeckis' The Walk, which is on IMAX 3D screens currently, but will be rolling out to theaters everywhere on October 9th.
