How About That Trailer? - Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets

We now have a full trailer for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and it looks great. Big, bold and fun should be the key terms that come out of a new Luc Besson-written and directed sci-fi adventure and that applies here. Based on an acclaimed French graphic novel series, the footage seen at Comic-Con was some of the most intriguing stuff featured and this trailer continues to lend confidence that Valerian will be one of the more exciting non-sequels to be arriving in theaters next summer.

As the trailer touts, this film is from the visionary mind behind The Fifth Element, among other films, and it certainly looks like it. While the ratio between miniatures and completely CG effects has shifted in the years since that 1997 cult action favorite starring Bruce Willis, Valerian still looks like an incredible new world with plenty of ideas, creatures and more to explore amidst the story being told. As far as that story goes, this trailer only teases some ideas, but it involves two bickering partners played by Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevinge that will ideally be more likable thanks to having a sort of Nick and Nora-type relationship.

Also helping is the way the action is staged, which looks big and expansive, but also filled with little quirks, such as costume design and little hints that technology, regardless of how cool it is, does not always work at the right time. I can say that applied a lot more to the Comic-Con footage, but this general look at the film certainly gets some of that across, along with all the other fun here. With all that in mind, Besson is great with action, so this should pan out no matter what.

I'm excited for Valerian and hope it delivers big in the ways Besson's best films can. The film opens in theaters July 21, 2017.

Official Description:

Rooted in the classic graphic novel series, Valerian and Laureline- visionary writer/director Luc Besson advances this iconic source material into a contemporary, unique and epic science fiction saga.

Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. 

Under directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe. Alpha’s seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time- uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.

Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, John Goodman, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu