Follow us on Google News

Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed

Looperis a 2012 sci-fi/time travel/action movie. It is set in 2044 and directed by Rian Johnson. The movie’s main stars are Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Emily Blunt. Its story is based on hitmen called “loopers” in the present who kill people sent from the future by criminal groups.

A still from Looper

In the movie, Joe, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, works as a looper (a futuristic assassin), to kill people sent back in time by a criminal group. The catch is he mustn’t let his target escape, even if that target happens to be himself.

Whereas another actor, Willis, takes on the role of the older, supposedly wiser assassin — who’s sent back in time by a criminal syndicate to erase him from history. But do you know, this time-travel movie drew inspiration from two iconic time-traveling films, which you might not be aware of.

12 Monkeys (1995)

Also read:Star Wars Director Rian Johnson Has An Interesting Theory For The Time-Travel Conundrum After His Film Starring Emily Blunt And Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis’Looperis Inspired by Two Iconic Time Travelling Movies

DirectorRian JohnsontoldNPRthat he wrote the script forLooperas a short film, which was initially inspired by the writings of Philip K. Dick. He said that he “was reading all of his books,” and he thought his “head was just kind of in this soup of time travel ideas.”

Time travel is one of the tricky plots to work with. Johnson found that even classic time travel movies likeBruce Willis‘12 MonkeysandBack to the Futurehad elements that didn’t entirely make sense. The director explained:

Rian Johnson

“But the magic trick of those movies is, it constructs this story where it really is like a magician with a deck of cards.”

He added that its story can make you believe in the logic for a couple of hours “so that you can go along on this ride.” The director looks fascinatingly influenced by these movies, and no doubt, he would have definitely taken inspiration from these two.

Jimmy Carter’s Net Worth in 2025: How Did He Make His Fortune?

Also read:Bruce Willis Hated the Notion of Being Forced To Retire, Claimed “I think I’ll just keep working” in a Heartbreaking Resurfaced Interview From 2010

Rian Johnson’s Take on Time Travel andLooperWorld

Rian Johnson was not particularly interested in taking a fantasy genre in time travel. He said, “It’s such a fantasy, kind of false moral conundrum.” The director continued:

“It’s something that has very little to do with real life, whereas the basic question of, does it work to solve the problem by finding the right person and killing them, or does that just create this self-perpetuating loop, that’s unfortunately something that is very applicable to the world around us. That’s the more interesting question to me.”

What We Know About Barry Jenkins and Lulu Wang’s Relationship

Johnson believes time travel stories are intensely relatable because they often contemplate their past and future selves. He asserted that the most powerful form of time travel is memory, where we frequently revisit moments in our lives and wish we had acted differently.

ForLooper, Johnson had to ditch the present and jump into a future —  in a place that doesn’t have flying cars or shiny sci-fi gadgets. Just like a dystopian version of today’s world, all broken down.

He wantedLooperto be real and12 MonkeysandBack to the Futureproved to be two classic time travel movies that provided the best insights for this new age movie.

WatchLooperon Netflix.

Also read:“I love it. Let me sleep on it”: Harvey Weinstein’s Bruised Ego Landed Bruce Willis His Dream Role That Nearly Went to Sandra Bullock’s Crash Co-Star

Shreya Jha

Articles Published :1042

Meet Shreya, FandomWire’s go-to Pop-Culture Writer. She holds a master’s degree in Journalism and a pop culture obsession that rivals even the most die-hard ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel fans.Her articles have been published in Animated Times, Creator Mail, and The Luxxe Mag. When Shreya’s not busy dishing out hot takes, she is lost in the world of rom-coms.

More from Shreya Jha

Jimmy Carter’s Net Worth in 2025: How Did He Make His Fortune?

What We Know About Barry Jenkins and Lulu Wang’s Relationship

Richest Sharks of Shark Tank, Ranked by Net Worth

Delta Force Console Release: Crossplay and Cross-Progression, Explained

Austin Butler’s Diet and Workout Routine For His Ripped Physique

When Is Palm Royale Season 2 Releasing on Apple TV+?

Top 5 Details In Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Reveal Trailer That You Might Have Missed

Are Blood Ravens Returning in Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 4?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Cast Revealed - From Returning Icons to New Faces

Bruce WillisRian Johnson