So far, the summer blockbusters have taken us to the surface of a Living Planet (in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), to the mythical island of Themyscira (in Wonder Woman), and on an expedition through the stars in Alien: Covenant. But later this season, Luc Besson plans on putting all of these adventures on blast with his adaptation of Valerian, a tentpole that promises to deliver nearly one thousand planets and matching species. Impossible? We thought so, too, until we got a look at this fascinating and detailed behind-the-scenes video on the making of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Watch!
In the video, Luc Besson admits that the idea behind his Valerian adaptation dates all the way back to when he was working on The Fifth Element, a sci-fi thriller that obviously took cues from the classic Valerian comic books. And that's the important thing to note. Valerian has been around since 1967, telling the intergalactic tales of space cops Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevigne). The comic book's influence can be seen in countless sci-fi movies that came after it, including the grand daddy of them all, George Lucas' Star Wars saga.
Now Luc Besson is setting out to give Valerian a proper adaptation in this July's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. And as he states in the video, he's able to do it right because James Camaeron's Avatar changed the game when it comes to special effects. Anything is possible now, which is how Besson is able to create endless species populating endless worlds. Filmmakers are only limited by their own imaginations.
This deep dive into the creative process on Valerian gives away some significant plot details. We learn that Valerian and Laureline are the grounded, human guides through this fantastical journey, on a case that takes them to Alpha, aka the City of a Thousand Planets. It's there that they will allow Besson to take technology on a test run, showing off the worlds and creatures he is able to bring to the biggest screen possible. As he says, all of the knowledge of the universe in IN Alpha. It sounds like it has the potential to be THE tentpole environment of the summer.
We have to wait until July 21 for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets to reach theaters. But as Luc Besson says in the final moments of this great reel, "Have fun, and I'll see you in space." If you want to know what you can watch before Valerian opens, head over to our complete rundown of 2017 movie release dates.
