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T
Watch the trailer
wo decades in the making for Parisian
director Luc Besson (whose film work
includes the genre classics Léon and
Lucy), Valerian and the City of A Thousand
Planets can be summed up in one word: Wow!
Based on Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières’
ground-breaking graphic novel Valérian and Laureline,
which not only influenced Avatar, but also the original
Star Wars trilogy, the film is a passion project for
Besson (who writes, produces and directs) – one
he has wanted to make since 1997’s The Fifth Element.
“I had [Jean-Claude Mézières] working on The Fifth
Element, and he’s the one who said, ‘Why are you doing
this shitty film? Why [don’t you] do Valerian?’” Besson
explained to deadline.com. “My first answer was,
‘Because it’s impossible.’ In my memory, there are
basically two actors and a billion monsters, and
I didn’t know how we could do it. I went back to
the comics to read them again. I arrived at the same
conclusion – impossible. But every year I looked
again and thought, maybe one day it is possible. So
I took an option, and started writing a little bit.”
On Thursday 3 August, Besson’s dream finally
becomes a reality when Valerian explodes into UK
cinemas. And trust us when we say it was worth the
wait. With a budget of 197 million euros (the
equivalent of 210 million US dollars), it’s
officially the most costly French film
ever made – and certainly
the most expensive
indie. But
Commander
Filitt
Laureline
Valerian
HIS
T
H
C
WAT
E
C
A
t our
e
e
P
S It’s time t l o u m s a few fo o e f s!
es, p ds and
o
r
e
h
frien
r
i
e
th
(Dane
DeHaan)
A Spatio-
Temporal
agent since
2713,
Valerian
is a brave
and loyal
operative.
(Cara
Delevingne)
Plucked out
of her own
time (11th-
century
France),
Laureline is
as tough as
they come.
(Clive Owen)
Valerian and
Laureline’s
stern boss
– he gives
the agents
just 10 hours
to save
the day.