For those who don’t know, Luc Besson is planning a big-budget adaptation of the French sci-fi graphic novel series, Valerian. With $180 million at his disposal, the filmmaker is busy putting together a stellar cast, and today, Deadline brings word that he’s nabbed Clive Owen to star alongside Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne.
No word yet on who Owen will play, but he’s sure to have a sizeable role in the film, which will focus on the titular spatio-temporal agent and his female companion, Laureline, as they travel through space and time, presumably fighting evil.
The series is set in the 28th century, when “humanity has discovered the means of travelling instantaneously in time and space,” and “Earth itself has become a virtual utopia with most of the population living a life of leisure in a virtual reality dream-state while ruled by the benign Technocrats of the First Circle.”
It certainly sounds like some heady material, and with Luc Besson in the director’s seat, it’s sure to be an exhilarating ride. While the helmer’s last few films haven’t exactly lived up to his earlier work, he’s got a rock solid cast assembled here and some intriguing source material to work off of. As long as he doesn’t get too silly with it, Valerian could be the start of an exciting new franchise for him.
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