Gordon-Levitt to play Cobra Commander in 'G.I. Joe'

LOS ANGELES -- It's one of the most shrouded summer movie mysteries: What will actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt look like as masked baddie Cobra Commander in "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra"?

The 28-year-old actor isn't giving away any details, but Gordon-Levitt says the villain's look was the main reason he signed on for the movie, based on the popular Hasbro toy line.

"The way the character looks, that's what ultimately convinced me to do the part," he says. "I saw the designs and drawings of the way they interpreted my character for this movie -- the costume, the whole getup -- and I was like, 'Oh, wow. I get to be that guy? Fantastic. Sign me up. Please. Thank you.'"

Spoiler alert! Many fans are miffed that the character's hood has been replaced with a scubalike mask in images of a new Cobra Commander action figure that have appeared online.

But Gordon-Levitt doesn't think that action figure looks like him.

"That toy is not my face. It's a mask. I like that I get to keep my face," he said. "It has less to do with me and more to do with this character that I helped create. That's more thrilling to me. It's this thing that was born out of a creative, collaborative process between me and a bunch of other people that all worked on creating this character."

The film, which also stars Channing Tatum and Sienna Miller, will be released Aug. 7.