“Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets” might seem like a huge risk, given that it’s the most expensive movie ever produced in France. However, Luc Besson isn’t sweating it, explaining recently that the massive sci-fi flick has made back most of its budget already through international pre-sales. Either way, he’s coming up against Christopher Nolan‘s “Dunkirk” this weekend, and a cinematic landscape where audiences have plenty of spectacle competing for their eyeballs including the Marvel Cinematic Universe and “Star Wars.” But, god bless him, Besson is preparing for a future with more ‘Valerian.’
Chatting with Nerdist, the filmmaker revealed he’s already mapping the storylines for two more movies. “I finished the number 2 already and I’m writing the number 3. I don’t know if we will do it, because it’s not up to me. It’s up to the audience if they like it,” Besson said.
READ MORE: Luc Besson’s ‘Valerian’ Is ‘Avatar’ On Ecstasy [Review]
The director realizes that no one might want any more ‘Valerian,’ but the exercise is good enough for him. “I’m enjoying writing it. So I don’t even wait. I’m just writing for myself. I finished the [sequel] already, then I [got] bored a month ago, so I said ‘let’s write the third,’ ” Idle hands, and all that….
Meanwhile, Besson does at least recognize he’s going to have to bring his A-game, and talking with THR he admits that James Cameron‘s “Avatar” forced him to scrap his first version of ‘Valerian.’
“…it wasn’t good enough,” he admitted. ” ‘Avatar’ was on such a [high] level that [I thought], ‘You’re not qualified. Go back to training,’ like with the Olympic Games. You can’t go and ask for $180 million [without being ready].”
Indeed, when he visited the production of Cameron’s film, he was staggered by what he saw. “He invited me on the set of ‘Avatar’ in L.A. because I said, ‘I’m writing something sci-fi,’ and he said, ‘Come and see how it’s working.’ Being there, in the middle of the factory with nothing, and seeing the world on the screen — he took me for a moron at the beginning, because it was kind of complicated for me to understand,” Besson said. “He looked at me like, ‘This moron doesn’t understand anything.’ I don’t have a computer. I have this, an iPad, with music. Then we went for lunch, and I asked him a lot of questions, and he gave me some tips. He was such a gentleman, so secure. You know, the people who are secure are generous.”
Clearly, Besson is tried to make the best version of ‘Valerian’ he could but we’ll see if moviegoers bite when it opens this weekend.