‘Valerian’: Watch the First Trailer for Luc Besson’s Sci-Fi Epic

Luc Besson is ready to take moviegoers to Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

The filmmaker has debuted the first trailer for his adaptation of the 1960s-era French comic book. The film earned major buzz at San Diego Comic-Con for its eye-popping visuals.

The film stars Dane DeHaan as the time-traveling hero Valerian and Cara Delevingne as his love interest and partner, Laureline. For Besson, it’s been a long journey. He’s been a fan of the material since he was 10 and has dreamed of making a movie about the film since 1997’s The Fifth Element. But movie technology wasn’t there yet.

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“When I saw Avatar for the first time, I took the script for Valerian and threw it in the garbage,” he told reporters at New York Comic Con. “It was not of that level. It’s like you watched Usain Bolt and thought, ‘OK, I’m not going to go into the Olympics. … I want to be behind Usain Bolt, but I want him to look at me. I was depressed — happy for [James Cameron], but depressed for me. But I’m happy now, because it’s better. I was right to throw it out.”

The trailer features The Beatles song “Because,” which is the first time a non-cover track from the legendary band has ever been licensed for use in a trailer. 

There are some fantastical aliens in this clip — but don’t get too attached to them. On Thursday, Besson participated in a Facebook Live chat to debut the trailer, where he revealed that in the sequel to the film, new aliens will be featured.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets opens July 21, 2017.