Luc Besson kicked off his brand new Twitter account by announcing that his next film will be VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS. It begins production in December starring Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne, and is due for release in 2017.
The film is an adaptation of the French comic Valérian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières, which Besson will write and direct. The film’s title is similar to the second volume in the Valérian and Laureline series, The Empire of a Thousand Planets.
The series focused on the classical hero and his redhead companion, who travelled through time and space to protect the planets of the Terran Empire against things like aliens and rogue time agents. As the series progressed, Christin’s interest in politics began to seep into the narratives. Speaking of which, it is interesting to note that Laureline’s name has been dropped from the title of the film.
Valérian and Laureline was first created in 1967 in Pilote magazine, and ran through until 2010. The sci-fi comic’s influence has been seen most directly in the original Star Wars series, as illustrated in the image below, The Fifth Element, and Avatar.
Valérian and Laureline was a clear influence on the Star Wars series
