This one’s a bummer. It appears that Django Unchained‘s all-star cast will now be short one of its most dynamic players. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s ascension as an actor has been fun to watch. Reminiscent of Heath Ledger in a lot of ways (both men appeared in teen romp 10 Things I Hate About You), he was able to break out of lighter “kid” fare and convince the heavyweights of his legitimate chops – having delivered solid work under directors like Chris Nolan and Rian Johnson. Sadly, a collaboration with Quentin Tarantino will have to wait a little bit longer. As MTV reports, JGL’s directorial debut Don Jon’s Addiction will now keep him away from Unchained:

“No, I’m not going to get to do that,” Gordon-Levitt said. “I’d love to, but it just doesn’t work.”

Gordon-Levitt said that he had spoken with Tarantino, and the director gave his support. “I’ve been in touch with Quentin about it, and it was so cool to trust me to do this little part in his movie,” Gordon-Levitt said. “I would have loved, loved to have done it. He’s one of my very favorite filmmakers, and he was really supportive of me directing and that meant the world to me.”

I have little doubt that Django Unchained has more than enough capable players* . Still, as someone who enjoys watching Gordon-Levitt work I would have been interested in seeing him perform under one of my favorite filmmakers. Another time, perhaps.

*Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chistoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kurt Russell… yeah, they’ll probably be alright.