The Crazy Detailed Way Luc Besson Built The Movie Universe For Valerian
Back in November, I took an exclusive trip to the edit bay of Luc Besson's upcoming Valerian And The City of A Thousand Planets -- and one thing I learned about in heavy detail was an alien species called the Kortan Dahuk. I was given a multi-page fact sheet that revealed everything about the creatures, from where they were from to how they first interacted with humans. It turns out, however, that this was just the tip of the iceberg of Besson's creation, as the filmmaker actually created a full-blown bible for the cinematic universe. The writer/director recently told me,
Earlier this month, both Luc Besson and Valerian star Dane DeHaan were in Los Angeles for a book signing at Meltdown Comics, and I had the opportunity to talk with both of them about their upcoming sci-fi blockbuster. I asked about the fact sheet and the detailed work that went into the making of the film, and learned about the tremendous depths of Besson's fanhood in regards to the long-running French comic series by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières. Both men went into detail about why it was so important for their individual processes, and how it legitimately aided the movie.
Going further with his point, Luc Besson explained how he used the bible as a means of authenticating both the world being established in Valerian, but also the interactions between characters. Leads Valerian and Laureline have a long history of encountering a wide-variety of alien species, and the filmmaker felt that familiarity could be replicated through heavy research. Said Besson,
Taking Luc Besson's thoughts and running with them, Dane DeHaan added that the fact book did legitimately help him immerse himself in the world -- but also gave him the opportunity to learn a lot more about the character he was playing. Said the actor,
The exciting finished results of this endeavor are still a few weeks away, with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets not hitting theaters until June, but audiences will get a brand new taste of the blockbuster when the new trailer arrives tomorrow morning:
Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets arrives in theaters on July 21st, and be sure to tune in here on CinemaBlend for the exciting trailer launch!
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Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.