'Valerian' Trailer: 'Fifth Element' Director Luc Besson Returns To Sci-Fi In A Fantastic Way

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' presentation at San Diego Comic-Con went great. Hall H may not have been full and many in attendance weren't familiar with the property — a French comic book series written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières — but the concept art and clips raised our expectations for Luc Besson's sci-fi adventure. The Fifth Element director is possibly cooking up something big, weird, and exuberant, and you can now get a taste of what he's been dreaming about making for years.

Below, watch the first Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets trailer.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is about time-travelling special operatives Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne), partners tasked with keeping the peace in the universe. The sci-fi film, which takes place over the course of 24 hours and will have a runtime of about two hours and 15 minutes (according to Besson), co-stars Clive Owen, John Goodman, Rihanna, Rutger Hauer, and Ethan Hawke.

Here's the Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets trailer, which features "Because," one of the first master recordings from The Beatles licensed for a movie trailer in decades:

This summer movie looks like what you'd get if someone handed the director of The Fifth Element $180 million to let his imagination run wild. With the environments, the costumes, and creature designs, it looks like Besson is holding nothing back on this one, getting as funky and as playful as he wants. The director is coming off his biggest hit in a while with Lucy, and he seems to have put that clout to good use because no other film coming out soon looks quite like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

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 on July 21st, 2017.