One of the things that make us truly happy to finally reach 2012 is because it means we’re creeping ever closer to the release of Brick/The Brothers Bloom creator Rian Johnson’s mind-itching time-travel thriller Looper. And now the director has decided to throw out a fresh tease, posing with one of the key tech elements in a new picture on the movie’s Tumblr site, which you can see below. Give that the film’s release is still months away, Johnson has cannily been doing his best to make sure little slips out that could spoil the fun. But he was kind enough to hand Empire the first official shot from the movie way back in May of last year. The writer/director has also kept the plot fairly quiet, though we do know it spins off from hitman Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an assassin involved in a complicated, time-spanning plot that involves him killing victims sent back in time from the future. The hooded humans arrive, he slaughters them with a blunderbuss, then burns the body so there’s no evidence. But one day a hoodless person arrives, in the shape of Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis). Cue a struggle for survival and so much more…
From the looks of this picture, Looper’s chrono-tinkering gadgetary owes more to Terry Gilliam-style industrial devices than any sleek Trek-nology. If you’re itching to see more, you’ll have to wait for the trailer(s) and then the film’s September 28 release date. But since Empire was the only film magazine on the set, you can also expect some exclusive coverage as the movie itself nears cinemas… | 
