'Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets' Photos: The Ever-Expanding City Of Alpha

Based on Pierre Christin's French comic book series illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets has been a longtime passion project for writer-director Luc Besson (Léon: The Professional). Tomorrow, we'll see the first trailer for Besson's space adventure, but before we get to see some of Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) in action, we have some new photos that tease the film's environments and alien designs.

Below, check out the new Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets photos.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is about the day in the life of time-travelling special operatives Valerian and Laureline, who try to keep the peace in the universe. A large part of their story is set in Alpha, an ever-expanding city with seventeen million inhabits and thousands of different kinds of species. The sci-fi film co-stars Clive Owen, John Goodman, Rihanna, Rutger Hauer, and Ethan Hawke.

The new photos show off Alpha, the alien species The Kortan Dahuk, and the Big Market, a market set in an alternate dimension with over one million stores:

At this year's Comic-Con, Besson and producer Virginie Besson-Silla showed a lot of Alpha and the Big Market. The world, especially in the footage, looked incredibly detailed and massive. Some of the environments you'll see in tomorrow's trailer will hopefully give a taste of the big, kooky, and cool universe that was teased at Comic-Con. That unfinished footage was along the lines of The Fifth Element on steroids, and it looked very promising.

Here's the official synopsis:

Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner- blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him.

Under directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe. Alpha's seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time- uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.

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