Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter

This summer’s Hot Hollywood hype is starting early.

First of the action flicks is the new Rian Johnson sci-fi action thriller Looper. This films stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a hitman in a futuristic society where time travel sends him back to take out his employer’s enemies before they have a chance to cause them any trouble.

The thriller part comes in when JGL finds his next assignment is his older self, played by Bruce Willis, who he is determined to hunt down despite the obvious consequences. Check out the trailer below.

Rian Johnson’s previous efforts were the indie films Brick and The Brothers Bloom (we recommend both), and he really doesn’t have much name recognition to the average audience but the studio is doing their best to get the word out.

They released three brief featurette interviews: a sneak peek, a little commentary about the futuristic world, and a background look at the makeup transformation to make JGL resemble Willis. You can also watch the trailer with the director’s commentary.

With action blockbusters dominating summer such as The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises smaller films like Looper do their best to create a buzz to raise their profile with audiences.

Do these tactics get you interested in a little-known film? Based on what you see here do you plan to see Looper?