Joseph Gordon-Levitt boards 'Sin City 2' and turns down 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

Credit: Todd Williamson/Invision/AP

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has chosen a more earth-bound comic book property for his next project.

Spurning Marvel's advances for the role of Star-Lord in the studio's upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy" film, the "Looper" star has instead signed on for a major part in "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For," the belated sequel to the hit 2005 Frank Miller adaptation.

Gordon-Levitt will play professional gambler Johnny, a role previously offered to Johnny Depp. The "ultra-smooth" character was created specifically for the film, which will adapt the writer's 1993-94 "Sin City" sequel series of the same name.

The Weinstein Company released a statement from Gordon-Levitt who said, "I love how the first movie uses VFX, not to make fake things look real, but to create a heightened world unburdened by the look and feel of reality.  Plus, nobody makes a badass like Mr. Rodriguez."

In addition to Gordon-Levitt, other newcomers to the follow-up include Dennis Haysbert and Jamie Chung (taking over from the first film's Devon Aoki in the role of "Miho"), who will join returning original cast members Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen and Rosario Dawson. As with the first film, the sequel - which is already in production - is being co-directed by Miller and Robert Rodriguez.

With their preferred A-list choice now out of the picture, Marvel can focus their attentions on the other contenders for the Star-Lord role in "Guardians," a shortlist that reportedly includes Joel Edgerton ("Zero Dark Thirty"), Jack Huston ("Boardwalk Empire"), Jim Sturgess ("Cloud Atlas") and Eddie Redmayne ("Les Miserables").

Gordon-Levitt enjoyed a mostly successful year in 2012, with roles in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster threequel "The Dark Knight Rises," Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" and "Looper," the Rian Johnson sci-fi flick that helped establish his leading man credentials with a gross of over $160 million worldwide (a success dampened only slightly by "Premium Rush"'s box-office underperformance a month earlier).

To kick off the new year, the newly-minted A-lister has also been tapped to host the Awards Ceremony for this year's Sundance Film Festival, where his feature directorial debut "Don Jon's Addiction" (in which he also stars opposite Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore) is slated to premiere.

"Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" is slated for release on October 4.

Do you think Gordon-Levitt is a good fit for the world of "Sin City"? Disappointed he won't be playing Star-Lord in "Guardians"? Sound off below.

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Chris Eggertsen
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A former contributor to sites including Bloody-Disgusting and AfterElton, Eggertsen enjoys rock music, rainy days and smelling the pages of old books. You should read all of his articles and follow him on Twitter because it's the right thing to do.