As the smoldering wreckage that was once America’s mythic self-image of itself as a country not dominated by all the worst and basest tendencies of a population hell-bent on ushering in the next exciting world war continues to billow smoke into the blood-red sky, many eyes are understandably turning to other countries. Canada’s immigration site has crashed, so it’s only natural to turn to the next logical place that could possibly escape the long shadow of the United States’ sociopathic president-elect: the distant reaches of outer space. Specifically, the promise of a beautiful alien world where none of today’s current events exist, as envisioned by delightful French weirdo Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element. Unfortunately, you’re not a Marvel movie director, so you don‘t get to be a part of Besson’s sci-fi universe.
According to CinemaBlend, Besson recruited some filmmaking buddies to play roles in his upcoming film Valerian, and one of them was The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier. (“Yes, it’s an official MCU film, it’s not the one with Eric Bana!” Leterrier probably has to remind people on a near-weekly basis.) Leterrier got to pretend he was far away from Earth by playing a member of a species known in the film as the Kortan Dahuk, because Besson doesn’t like making science fiction that doesn’t have at least a dozen elements you can point to and say, “Well, that’s just ridiculous.” Based on a comic book series from Besson’s youth about a pair of intergalactic spies, the alien beings are part of the director’s absurdly elaborate vision—one detailed enough to require “a 600-page bible that answers practically any question that anyone may have about the universe that has been constructed.” Starring Dane DeHaan and model-turned-sort-of-actor Cara Delevingne, the film’s trailer is scheduled to appear later this week.
There are more details about the plot and background of the story to be found alongside the Leterrier news, but honestly, you could just substitute in the words “hilariously convoluted backstory of which you’ll require no knowledge to enjoy the spectacle” and call it a day. Which, given we’re already calling it a day for a few other things, including multicultural tolerance and the expectation of thoughtfulness in our national leaders, is keeping with the general tenor of the moment.