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'Valerian' Promises To Take Us On An Out-Of-This-World Adventure!

Written by Amanda Baltazar. Published: July 18 2017

 

Meet Valerian, an intergalactic space agent who travels through time and space to keep order in the territories under the order of the Minister of Defense. 

 

Meet Laureline, Valerian's partner who keeps him in check. She is smart, cunning, and beautiful. She saved Valerian while he was on a mission in her time in the 11th century. Upon the her discovery of time travel, she went back to the future with him and she was trained to be an agent and his partner.

 

These are the two main characters of the sci-fi blockbuster of the summer! Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a graphic novel/comic from France originally published in 1967. The film adaptation is directed by Luc Besson (known for Lucy and The Fifth Element), who is joined by Jean-Claude Mézières, as he was one of the two original creators of the comic. 

 

 

 

Whoa! Insane, right?! The movie looks a lot like The Fifth Element, Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy, and at some points even Avatar. Well, if you saw traces of The Fifth Element, you'd be very right since both Jean-Claude Mézières and Luc Besson collaborated on that film as well. 

 

The trailer showcased many different locations, from underwater and desserts to space and many other different environments, along with just as many lifeforms that live in those places, almost like Guardians of the Galaxy does. However, this is explained through the idea of a "thousand planets". Valerian and Laureline are tasked to go to Alpha, a city where thousands of species from all over the universe have come together to share knowledge and culture. There is a mystery in the middle of the metropolis, and the dark force could ruin the peace within the Alpha and potentially the whole universe.

 

Valerian is played by Dane DeHaan (known for Chronicle and A Cure For Wellness) and Laureline is played by Cara Delevingne (known for her modeling and roles in Suicide Squad and Paper Towns). The last model-actress I saw in a Luc Besson film was Milla Jovovich in The Fifth Element and, well, look how well she's doing. 

 

Oh, and yes, that was definitely your girl RiRi in the trailer! 

 

Rihanna plays Bubble, and according to the film's official website, she is a "Glampod, a polymorphus extraterrestrial species, with a mysterious agenda." Not so sure what that means, but she has a pretty sick outfit change in the trailer, and I can't wait to see her encounter with Valerian and Laureline!

 

We can't wait to see what Luc Besson has created for us when Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets hits theaters July 21st!

 
(Image via STX/YouTube)
 
- Amanda Baltazar, YH Contributing Writer