The most expensive sci-fi film in French history is about to be released

"Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets", a French action blockbuster, cost nearly 210 million USD to produce, the highest number in the history of this country's cinema.

Of all the comic book movies released in 2017, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is arguably the most action-packed.

Besides originating from France, the land of psychological and romantic films, this is also the most expensive film in the history of this country with a budget of nearly 210 million USD, according to Cineuropa.

The project cost three times as much as the previous record holder, Asterix at the Olympic Games, which had a budget of $82 million. Spending that much money on an action movie based on a not-so-popular comic book was considered a risk by the filmmakers.

The two main characters of the film are Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne). Photo: YouTube.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a project of EuropaCorp - the leading film studio in France. Because it belongs to the science fiction genre, the film depends heavily on special effects, especially the creation of strange creatures in the Alpha setting, which also cost the studio a lot of money and time. That is what makes this one of the most expensive film projects of 2017.

Comic book adaptations are currently a prominent trend in world cinema, so it is not surprising that the French film industry is entering this fertile land.

However, pouring in a huge amount of money of over 200 million USD is astonishing. This number is approximately equal to the budget of top Hollywood blockbusters such as X-Men, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Man of Steel.

The Alpha aliens are elaborately designed. Photo: EuropaCorp.

That means that EuropaCorp really believes in what director Luc Besson will show in this film, even though the project's chances of success during the summer movie season are quite slim.

Fox's War for the Planet of the Apes and especially the blockbuster of famous director Christopher Nolan - WWII epic Dunkirk will be two direct competitors with this movie at the same time.

Starring in the film are two young faces Dane DeHaan (as Valerian) and supermodel Cara Delevingne (as Laureline). DeHaan played the villain Green Goblin in Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 while the former Victoria's Secrets angel appears in Suicide Squad as Enchantress.

Singer Rihanna makes a cameo appearance in the film. Photo: YouTube.

The film tells the story of the main character, a young man named Valerian, a secret agent of the human government, sent to a city in the Alpha galaxy, where thousands of different species from all over the universe live. From this, Valerian discovers a plot to destroy the Earth and he is forced to find a way to prevent it from happening.

The film was first announced at the New York Comic-Con event in 2016. Looking at the color and design of the film's poster, many people think of Michael Bay's Transformers blockbuster series.

Official poster for the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Photo: EuropaCorp.

The film is expected to be released in theaters from July 21 with the participation of other names such as Rihanna, Kris Wu, Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke, John Goodman and Herbie Hancock.

According to Zing