While Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets isn’t a sequel or even direct follow-up to The Fifth Element, it does have Besson tackling the sci-fi genre in a unique way, more colorfully and ambitious than a majority of the other space operas of recent memory (with a few notable exceptions).
Not only has Valerian been a passion project for years for Besson, but it’s also the first time that the legendary filmmaker is returning to the same kind of space opera genre since 1997’s The Fifth Element.
As anticipation around the film continues to build, a brand new image and poster for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets have been revealed, and for many fans of writer and director Luc Besson’s work, the film is a long time coming.
It’s for that reason, along with many others, that Valerian is turning out to be one of the most anticipated blockbuster films of this year’s packed summer season, even despite some of its equally-impressive competitors.