New Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Trailer Feels a Bit Like Mass Effect

From the first moment I laid eyes on this brand new trailer for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, I knew I was going to be treated to a pretty amazing visual feast. It also didn’t hurt that the opening shot of the trailer feels remarkably like the opening shot of the first Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser trailer that came out around this time two years ago.

That aside, it looks like Luc Besson has a pretty intriguing film on his hands, and given the fact that it’s got such a rich pool of content to draw from, this may be a sci-fi flick to keep an eye on. Whereas much of the last teaser focused a lot on visuals and was fairly light on plot, this full-fledged trailer breaks down exactly what we can expect to see from Valerian and Laureline (Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevigne, respectively), the two heroes at the center of this story.

According to the trailer, the “city of a thousand planets” is a hub for nearly all life in the universe, and is a bit of a utopia where (mostly) everyone lives in peace. But thanks to something, the city faces a grave threat from an “unknown force” who is seeking to destroy it. Utopias never really last, people. You’d think they’d learn in the distant future, but … nah.

I found myself completely absorbed by the trailer, and I honestly wasn’t really expecting much when I first started watching it. But I don’t know if it’s the striking visuals, the solid cast (hello, unabashed Clive Owen fan here), or the already amazingly built universe drawing me in. Though, I guess, if I’m being completely honest, it probably has something to do with the Mass Effect-like feel to everything: massive utopian hub space station where all forms of alien life live, looks a little like the Citadel, under threat by an unknown scourge, “agents” who are tasked with saving the universe, and hell, even space suits that are one N7 logo away from being Shepard-ready.

Yeah, that has to be it. I’ve still got a Mass Effect itch that needs to be scratched, and this is kind of hitting it for me. I’m okay with that.

(via ComicBookMovie.com, image via screengrab)

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