Fans of The Fifth Element will be extremely pleased with Entertainment Weekly‘s first-look photos of Cara Delevingne and Dane DeHaan in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, the latest retro-cool sci-fi menagerie from Luc Besson. Check out the throwback robots and costumes among the Valerian photos in the gallery below!
In the article, Besson describes his two lead characters as police investigators and the story as something of a whodunnit as far as the real villain is concerned. As for the reason they’re dressed in Hawaiian shirts…
“It’s a part of the first mission,” Besson explains. “Beginning of the film. Like when you see James Bond, there’s always that one mission first. It’s the James Bond-style pre-story mission. They are in the middle of this big mission, and they’re disguised, so that’s why they’re dressed that way. They try to escape. It’s pretty funny how they have to escape.”
As for the giant red robot who looks like he came straight out of Disney’s The Black Hole, he’s a police robot named K-Tron that you best not mess with.
“You can’t even deal with him,” says Besson. “You don’t argue with him. He’s not really important in the film, but he’s just like the the military police. Believe me, I have hundreds of these characters like him.”
Delevingne and DeHaan lead the cast of the upcoming comic adaptation, which co-stars Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke, Rutger Hauer, John Goodman and Grammy Award winners Herbie Hancock and Rihanna.
In the film, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner- blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him.
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.
Adapted for the screen and directed by Besson (Lucy, The Fifth Element), the film will be the most expensive film yet produced and distributed by his EuropaCorp banner. It is based on the French comic series “Valerian and Laureline” by Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières. Created in 1967, the comic has since sold over 10 million copies in 21 languages.
