Paul Dano (For Ellen, Cowboys & Aliens) has joined the cast of writer/director Rian Johnson‘s (Breaking Bad, Terriers) upcoming film, Looper. Dano joins a cast which already includes Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Emily Blunt. Johnson will direct the film from his original script.

Looper is set to begin production in Louisiana early next year. The movie is a sci-fi/time-travel thriller that follows a group of killers who send their victims’ dead bodies back in time. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) and Bruce Willis (Surrogates) have both signed on to play the same character, in different time frames. Emily Blunt (The Adjustment Bureau) will portray a single mother whose son becomes a target, and she goes to great lengths to protect him.

Looper is slated to hit theaters in 2011.