Luc Besson is looking to recapture that goofball Fifth Element charm with his latest sci-fi spectacle Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Adapted from the long-running French comic book series Valérian and Laureline, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets follows two 28th century special operatives, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne), as they attempt to keep order throughout the human territories.
One gets the sense that Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a tough sell: the title is too long for simple Twitter usage, the comic isn’t overly familiar to American audiences, and the last time Hollywood attempted a big, colorful, confusing space opera with The Wachowskis’ Jupiter Ascending, things didn’t work out too well. The final trailer for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets arrived today, and forgoes focusing on plot to instead showcase the colorful, eye-popping visuals on display.
Besson has assembled quite the cast around DeHaan and Delevingne, including Clive Owen, Rihanna, John Goodman, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu, Rutger Hauer and Ethan Hawke, as someone called Jolly the Pimp. If a character named named Jolly the Pimp isn’t enough to sell you on this thing, I’m not quite sure what you’re even looking for. Watch the final trailer below.
In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha—an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets opens July 21.