It’s a good time to be Joseph Gordon-Levitt, career-wise. His indie creative hitRECord company is bubbling away nicely, he’s made his directorial debut with Don Jon’s Addiction, set to debut at Sundance this month, and he’s in demand for films both big and small. The latest gig? Gordon-Levitt is joining Sin City sequel A Dame To Kill For.

According to Hitfix, he’s snagged a lead role in Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s return trip to the graphic novel universe, and is set to play Johnny, an ultra-smooth character that doesn’t appear on the printed page, but was created specifically for the film. Rodriguez and Miller had originally offered the role to Johnny Depp, but say Gordon-Levitt is a great choice as replacement.

"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.” Gordon-Levitt says in a statement. “Plus, nobody makes a badass like Mr Rodriguez." He's also tweeted since this story first went live, confirming the report again.

The sprawling cast for the film – which is now shooting – includes Jessica Alba, Jamie Chung, Alexa Vega, Rosario Dawson, Jamie King, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Dennis Haysbert and Bruce Willis.

But the casting news means that Gordon-Levitt is out of the running for Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy film, and that he won’t be playing Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord, one of the key members of the team. Still, director James Gunn has his pick of other possibilities, with such names as Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, Jim Sturgess, Zachary Levi and Lee Pace all mentioned as in the running. Expect that one to be announced soon.