Next month, director Luc Besson makes his return to the sci-fi genre with the release of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, a $180 million-budgeted blockbuster said to be the most expensive European production ever.
On paper, that sounds like a huge gamble for Besson and EuropaCorp, with rumours even suggesting that the company could go under financially if the film doesn’t hit big at the box office. However, not so according to the filmmaker, who has told Screen Daily that it doesn’t pose any financial risk, as it has already made back the majority of its budget through pre-sales.
“Like every film company, we will only greenlight a project if at least 80% of its budget is covered. With Valerian, we’ve covered 96% of the budget with pre-sales. I heard that a newspaper did write a bit of shit about the company but actually this newspaper belongs to another company that is going to release a film at the same time. It sounds to me like a very, very below-the-belt attack. The risk to EuropaCorp is 4% of the budget so there’s no actual financial risk. The risk for the company is more one of notoriety. If the film is a big flop, we’ll lose credibility for making these sorts of films. The risk is not financial, but rather human.”
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In the 28th century,Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha—an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is set for release on July 21st, 2017 and features a cast that includes Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, John Goodman, Herbie Hancock, and Kris Wu.
Originally published June 25, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
