‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ Updates: Rihanna Appears as Stripper in New Comic-Con Footage; Director Luc Besson Ordered to Pay €450,000 for Plagiarism

‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ will feature Rihanna as a stripper as seen in new footage released during the 2016 Comic-Con. Meanwhile, director Luc Besson was recently ordered to pay €450,000 for plagiarism.

According to Billboard.com, singer-songwriter Rihanna was seen as a futuristic stripper in new footage released at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con. The pop star is set to play a dancer in an alien bar in Luc Besson’s upcoming science-fiction film based on the French comic book series ‘Valerian and Laureline’ created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mezieres.

The footage saw Valerian played by Dane DeHaan in a futuristic city’s red light district as he goes and visits a brothel run by Ethan Hawke’s character. When Hawk asks DeHaan what type of girl he was in the mood for, DeHaan replies, “Retro.” He is then treated to a private show featuring none other than a futuristic Rihanna.

Besson previously explained why he decided to cast Rihanna in the role Tweeting, “I chose her as an actress not as a singer and i was surprised with what a gifted actress she is! @rihanna #valerian.” Rihanna is also set to play the iconic role of Marion Crane on season 5 of A&E’s ‘Bates Motel’.

According to Mashable, other colorful footage shown during the Hall H panel included Valerian clad in his exoskeletal space suit as he negotiated a metal corridor, his partner Laureline in action as she confronted guards and extraterrestrials, cities with aliens and humans, as well as more action-packed scenes with monsters and alien landscapes.

Joining DeHaan in the lead role is Cara Delevingne. She will take on the role of Laureline, a special government operative and partner to Valerian. Besson praised DeHaan and Delevingne’s on-screen chemistry saying, "They are space agents. They go through time and space. And they are so cute… I fell in love with Laureline when I was 10. But I wanted to be Valerian."

Other members of the cast include Clive Owen, John Goodman, Rutger Hauer, Sam Spruell, and Kris Wu. The film’s plot follows Valerian and Laureline as they are tasked to go on a mission to the intergalactic city of Alpha to investigate and maintain order in the universe.

It is directed by Besson who is best known for his work on several critically-acclaimed science-fiction films including 1990’s ‘Nikita’, 1997’s ‘The Fifth Element’, and 2014’s ‘Lucy’. He worked as co-screenwriter and producer for the 2012 film ‘Lockout’, which was directed by Stephen Saint Leger and James Mather.

However, critics noted that the film shared similarities to John Carpenter’s 1981 dystopian-action film ‘Escape from New York’. According to the Verge, a Paris court recently ordered Besson to pay €465,000 (£379,000) for plagiarism as he apparently “massively borrowed key elements” from Carpenter’s film. Carpenter, meanwhile, demanded $2.4 million.

‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ is an upcoming action-adventure and science-fiction film scheduled to be released on July 21, 2017 in the United States. It is produced by EuropaCorp, Fundamental Films, and Gulf Films.