Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (Valérian et la Cité des mille planètes in French) is an upcoming English-language French science fiction film written and directed by Luc Besson. The film is based on the French science fiction comics series Valérian and Laureline, written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières. It stars Dane DeHaan as Valérian and Cara Delevingne as Laureline. The film is scheduled for release on 21 July 2017.^[1][3]

Plot

Set in the 28th century, the film's central plot involves two spatio-temporal agents who travel the universe through space and time to protect the interests of the human species. They perform all kinds of tasks: space rescues, interplanetary exploration, diplomacy and galactic aliens negotiations. But one particular rule must be respected: never change the course of events.

Cast

• Dane DeHaan^[1] as Valérian
• Cara Delevingne^[1] as Laureline
• Clive Owen^[1]
• Ethan Hawke^[1]
• Rihanna^[3]
• Herbie Hancock^[3]
• Kris Wu^[4]

Production

Development

In 2012, it was announced that Luc Besson planned to make a movie for the big screen of the French comic series Valérian and Laureline, published in 1967, sold 10 million copies and translated into 21 languages. On 12 May 2015, Besson revealed in his very first tweet that he would write and direct Valerian film, while Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne would star.^[5] DeHaan and Delevingne would play the titular roles, space and time-traveling agents from a futuristic Earth.^[6] On 19 August 2015, Clive Owen signed on to play Commander Arün Filitt in the film.^[7] This film marks the return of the director to space opera, twenty years after The Fifth Element, and confirms its appeal to the genre of science fiction, especially after Lucy's worldwide success in 2014. It had been years that Luc Besson was planning to make a film inspired by the world of Valérian and Laureline. A scenario was ready in 2009, when James Cameron's Avatar was released. After seeing this film, Besson takes zero, dissatisfied with his own script. The budget of €197 million is the largest ever assembled for a French film. Astérix at the Olympic Games was the most expensive with a budget of €78 million, just ahead of Besson's The Fifth Element (€75 million).^[8] By the end of August 2015, Besson said in a RTL radio interview that shooting the film in France was too expensive. Because it will be shot in a foreign language (English), Besson could not beneficiate of tax credits whereas he would prefer to make it in France and create jobs for 1.200 crew members.^[8][9] The criteria to obtain these tax credits then evolved.

Casting

On 28 October 2015, Rihanna was cast in the film for an unspecified role.^[10] On 5 December 2015, Ethan Hawke was cast in the film for an unspecified role.^[11] On 12 December 2015, Herbie Hancock's casting for an unspecified role was revealed.^[12] On 15 December 2015, Besson announced the casting of Kris Wu for an unspecified role.^[4]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on 5 January 2016 in the Cité du cinéma, in Saint-Denis, north of Paris.^[13]

Release

Valerian is scheduled to be released worldwide on July 21, 2017 by EuropaCorp.^[6] Lionsgate will handle the film's release in the United Kingdom and Ireland.^[14]

References

External links

• Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets at the Internet Movie Database