Into the Spider-Verse offers fan-gasms with the Ultimate Spider-man Team-Up

From the animation studio that brought The Smurfs to cinemas as well as cutesy monsters of Hotel Transylvania, Sony Pictures Animations now bring Marvel's friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler in animated form to cinemas with Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse. As movie goers may be aware, Sony Pictures currently holds the rights of Spider-man on film since Y2K and has produced six live-action movies to-date which ranks at the 10th highest grossing film franchise of all time at over USD4.8 billion. With such a lucrative property, Sony retains a super-strength grip onto the Spidey film rights and which includes associated Marvel characters such as Venom, Morbius, Black Cat, Kraven, etc. This Sony Universe of Marvel Characters (SUMC) has already paid off gruesomely in the standalone movie Venom released this October and ranking in over USD845 million worldwide.

The Peter Parkers to-date (left to right): Tobey Macguire, Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland.
Source: Time.com

Since the 1970's, live-action films of Spider-man has featured Peter Parker as their main protagonist, being the secret identify of the namesake superhero. The current Peter Parker is portrayed by Tom Holland and, through mutually profiting agreements with Marvel Studios, has been incorporated into the massively successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise since 2016's Captain America: Civil War. So with Peter Parker temporarily exported from the live-action SUMC, here comes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introducing Mile Morales as the new lead protagonist in the namesake role.

Official movie synopsis:

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. Spider-Man™: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the mask.

Team Spidey GO!

The movie is directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey (Rise of the Guardians), and Rodney Rothman. Voicing teenager Miles Morales is Shameik Moore and Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker. Forming the Spider Team are Hailee Steinfeld (Ender's Game, Bumblebee) as Gwen Stacey, Nicholas Cage as Spider-Man Noir, Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker, and John Mulaney as Spider-Ham. Other supporting cast to note is Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins) as Wilson Fisk, Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage), Brian Tyree Henry and Lily Tomli.

Let's take a closer look into the different Spider-man of the Spider-Verse:

 MILES MORALES – The all-new Spider-Man

Miles Morales is a young teenager and a Brooklyn native. He’s a bright kid who’s been thrust into a new school and is having a hard time adjusting to a more rigorous academic environment. But he’s having an even harder time adjusting to his entirely new and unexpected life as a Spider-Man.  With the help of some surprising new friends, Miles learns to unlock the hero inside himself.

 PETER B. PARKER – Miles’ reluctant mentor 

He may look like Peter Parker, but he is older and the years of superhero life have taken a toll on his body. His experiences have left him world-weary and cynical. Peter never wanted to be a mentor, but training Miles Morales to be Spider-Man helps him to regain his original enthusiasm for that identity and reclaim the spirit of selflessness for which Spider-Man stands

SPIDER-GWEN – A super-cool Spider-Woman 

An intelligent and quick-witted teenager, Spider-Gwen is the Spider-Woman of her world, an excellent fighter who can swing and flip with the grace of a trained dancer. Although tough and brave when she’s fighting the bad guys, Gwen has suffered a loss in her universe that’s made her afraid to get close to people, even to an open-hearted kid like Miles. Once she learns there are others like her, she has the opportunity to let down her guard and become part of a team who have overcome their own tragedies to become the protectors of their worlds.

SPIDER-MAN NOIR – The Spider-Man of 1933

Spider-Man Noir, a Peter Parker from another century as well as another universe, is a more hardened version of Spider-Man who fought crime during the Great Depression in 1933. Unlike most Spider-People, Spider-Man Noir is only seen in black and white and has the 1930s perspective to match, which makes it harder for him to adjust to Miles’ modern (and colorful) world.

PENI PARKER and SP//dr – A half-Asian school girl from the future 

Peni Parker is a classic anime character, a school girl from an alternative universe with a psychic link to a spider. She’s an emotional, expressive vigilante who doesn’t wear the typical Spider-Man suit – instead, she has a mechanical, robotic Spidey suit that only responds to her DNA.

SPIDER-HAM – The comic relief

Meet Spider-Ham, aka Peter Porker… a cartoon pig! Spider-Ham is always the first one to crack a joke, but despite behaving like the ultimate ham, he takes his job as a Spider-Hero very seriously and fights alongside the others with own his special kind of cartoon fury.

AUNT MAY - A Pillar for all Spider-People

Aunt May has been very involved in her nephew's Spider-Man world, creating gadgets and providing tactical support for his superhero adventures. When May learns that there are Spider-People from other universes who need her help, she’s ready to provide coffee and web-shooters. She even wields a baseball bat to fight along side them when the villains arrive.

WILSON FISK aka KINGPIN – The ultimate crime lord 

Kingpin is the king of organized crime in New York. His climb to the heights of power has been built on decades of shady deals and ruthless violence, backed by an almost superhuman will. Kingpin blames Spider-Man for a loss so great that he is willing to risk the lives of every person in every universe to get back what he lost.

The Spidey team-up we've been waiting for is finally in cinemas!

The real thrill for Marvel fans would be to see this team-up amongst the different Spider-heroes. The animation style is very much inspired by its comic book origins, chock full of visual delights and “easter eggs” aplenty including the world's most famous cameo actor in animated form. But as aesthetically pleasing as a movie may look, it's core story must resound with the audience and this one most certainly strikes home.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has received raving reviews and even scored a perfect 100% by Rotten Tomatoes. Here's how it compared against the preceding live-action movies by Sony on the Tomatometer:

Even before it's US release, the movie already been nominated in the Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture – Animated, up against The Incredibles 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet.

For more in-depth review, read what Star2.com has to say or watch opinion video by IGN:

Malaysia's Movie Premiere for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was held on 4 December 2018 at TGV 1 Utama and attended by our very local-verse of Spider-heroes:

Can you name each Spider-man in this group shot?

Cosplayers from Into the Spider-Verse with the exception of Spider-Ham.

Femme fatales Spider-Gwen, Mary Jane and Peni Parker.

Spider-men of the MCU.

Peter Parker: "I don't feel so good..."

Waiting patiently for the Marvel must-watch end-credit scene(s).

Once again, the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has compiled the following intel of Spider-Verse promos from our local cinemas. Starting with TGV Cinemas, customers purchasing at least two tickets will be able to redeem a limited edition Spider-man phone ring (while stocks last). Find out participating cinemas and terms & conditions from TGV's website.

Furthermore, customers with minimum of three tickets may join TGV's Facebook contest for the chance to win movie premiums including a limited edition Spider-man PS4 Pro console as Grand Prize. Goto the contest post to participate and check terms & conditions at their website (ends 16 December 2018).

GSC Cinemas has similar movie premiums up for grabs (excluding PS4) via their own Facebook contest with no purchase requirements. But enter fast as the contest ends today / 10 December 2018.

For customers who have got at least two tickets, GSC is offering a limited edition 1:4 scale Spider-Gwen statue worth SGD900 / RM2,735 via another Facebook contest. Find out more on this premium collectible from XM Studios and join before 23 December 2018.

Over at MBO Cinemas, loyal Allstar members can make use of their points to redeem movie premiums once they have purchased minimum 2 tickets. Go ahead and redeem online at the URL links provided.

Plus mini-portable speakers may be redeemed for 5000 points at selected locations only.

So don't forget your web-shooters and swing into your friendly neighbourhood cinema to catch Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse showing NOW!

Teenager Mile Morales will be the next generation Spider-man.

©2018 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2018 MARVEL

Star Trek Captain Philippa Georgiou Malaysian connection

Michelle Yeoh on the cover of Entertainment Weekly magazine as Captain Philippa Georgiou.

When the latest incarnation of Star Trek launched last September, Star Trek Discovery certainly sent where no Malaysian has gone before. That being Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh stepping onto a Federation starship as Captain Philippa Georgiou. More politely addressed as Tan Sri Dato' Seri Michelle Yeoh within Malaysia by her honorific titles received by royalty, she is widely known internationally for her prowess in martial arts action movies such as Hong Kong's Police Story 3 (1992) starring alongside Jackie Chan, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) with Chun Yun Fat. She has also been a Bond Girl in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies and other western film productions like Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) and Luc Besson's biopic The Lady (2011) as  Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Prior to Star Trek, Michelle Yeoh's geek pop culture contributions include Babylon A.D. (2008) with Vin Diesel and more recently a surprise cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017).

Interview of Michelle Yeoh on her role as Captain Georgiou.

Michelle Yeoh's stint on Star Trek Discovery began in the pilot episode "The Vulcan Hello" as Captain of the USS Shenzhou in the year 2256, approximately 10 years before Star Trek The Original Series (TOS). As Philippa Georgiou, she is a highly decorated Starfleet officer and mentor for the last 7 years to Lt. Commander Michael Burnham, the new series lead character as portrayed by Sonequa Martin-Green of The Walking Dead fame. Although human, Burnham was raised on Vulcan under tutelage of Ambassador Sarek, father of the infamous Mr Spock. The relationship between Georgiou and Burnham on the Shenzhou is much like surrogate mother to daughter with the Captain nurturing the younger officer's humanity from Vulcan stoicism and instilling Federation ideals.

On the bridge of the USS Shenzhou (left to right): Saru (Doug Jones), Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Phillipa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh).

Michelle Yeoh has infused her character with cultural elements outside the typical American mold of television. Most notably of which she does not speak English with an American accent as would have most principal cast of US productions. Whilst most Malaysian and Asian viewers are quite used to her accent and tone inflections, indeed it is uncommon for American viewers to hear foreign accents outside stereotypical racial roles. Hence it became a statement on Star Trek progressiveness in television for its equality and inclusiveness, a theme that has resounded since TOS first aired over 50 years ago with a racially diverse principal cast. Read more about netizens initial reaction of her accent on Netshark.com; side observation on our part that some Americans have difficulty understanding English spoken outside their native accents.

A Wayang Kulit puppet seen on Captain Georgiou's ready room.

The producers of Star Trek Discovery have subtly included cultural references of Georgiou's Asian heritage. Although us Malaysians here have probably yet to encounter anyone local with such a surname, perhaps that will change in another 200 years. Months ago, screenshots of Captain Georgiou's ready room / office on the starship Shenzhou highlighted a Wayang Kulit puppet in the background (see picture above). Wayang Kulit is a traditional puppet shadow-play originating from southeast asia. Whilst widely known by Malaysians, the traditional performance is now a diminishing art form amongst younger generations. Find out more about how the artists at Fusion Wayang Kulit (FWK) are infusing modern pop culture into this traditional art to revive interest for the current generation.

In the latest Star Trek Discovery episode and season one finale "Will You Take My Hand?", Michael Burnham asks Philippa Georgiou of her homeland. In reply Captain Georgiou replies that he grew up in Malaysia.

Upon further probing by Burnham, she more specifically pinpoints Pulau Langkawi, translated to English as Langkawi island. In response Burnham mentions of "beautiful beaches".

In what would likely be seen as a few throwaway lines elsewhere in the world, these mentions of Malaysia and Langkawi has certainly gotten Malaysians buzzing on social media. Considering that western entertainment media typically references locations that more widely known to American audiences, e.g. New York, San Francisco, London, etc., hearing not just one but two references associated to our country in an established sci-fi franchises like Star Trek clearly resounded in many Malaysians. Here are some reactions to our Instagram photo posted yesterday and shared to Facebook:

Response by Malaysian Trekkies on Facebook Group Starbase MY - Star Trek Fans Malaysia.

We have no inkling on whether dear Tan Sri Yeoh influenced selection of Pulau Langkawi entering Star Trek canon, although Georgiou's association with Malaysia had been unofficially hinted some time ago on Trek chatter. Since Michelle Yeoh's actual hometown is Ipoh, perhaps Langkawi simply served better as an exotic sounding name that had more syllables. Indeed it could have been spoken as "Langkawi island" instead of "Pulau Langkawi", noting that most of Star Trek's audience do not speak the Malay language and therefore would not read "pulau" as "island". Nevertheless with Burnham's mention of "beautiful beaches" it does help serve as somewhat of a tourism plug for Langkawi.

For our readers elsewhere in the world, Malaysia is a tropical country in southeast asia just north of the equator. West Malaysia comprises a peninsula stretching between Thailand and Singapore, whilst East Malaysia spans along the northern shores of Borneo island. Total land area of Malaysia is 330,803 sqkm, roughly 13% smaller than Japan.

Langkawi is an island just off the northwest coast of peninsula Malaysia bordering Thailand. It measures 478 sqkm, approximately two-thirds the size of Singapore. As an island resort, Langkawi does offer "beautiful beaches" associated with island attractions and geoforest parks. Direct access to the island by air is provided via an international airport, and good for travel most times of the year from sunny tropical weather. Discover more about Langkawi from the official tourism website.

== / == End Commercial Break (LOL!) == / ==

These are not actually the first time Malaysia has been mentioned in Star Trek, but the third. The first was way back in year 2000 in the seventh season of Star Trek Voyager on an episode titled "Inside Man". As a member of Project Pathfinder, Lieutenant Reginald Barclay (a recurring Starfleet character played by Dwight Schultz) was experiencing transmission problems sending his hologram to the USS Voyager stranded in the Delta Quadrant. His apparent obsessive paranoid soon annoys his supervising officer who then tell Reg to take a leave of absence and offered use of his cousin's beach house in Malaysia during that time off. It seems even 18 years ago Malaysia was somewhat associated to "beautiful beaches", which is most certainly true in the current 21st century.

Reginald Barclay (right) offered to take a vacation on the beach in Malaysia during Voyager's episode "Inside Man".

 The next mention of Malaysia came two years later in Star Trek Enterprise during the middle of the series first season in the episode titled "Silent Enemy". In this instance, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula of "Quantum Leap" fame) had requested Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) to track down the parents of his tactical officer Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating). After locating them, Hoshi inform Archer that Reed's parents are located in Kota Baharu, Malaysia. Again for those not familiar with Malaysia, Kota Bahru (correctly spelt) is capital city for the northeastern state of Kelantan in West Malaysia. In today's day and age, this city of 300,000 people does not come to mind as a first choice for western expatriates to make home; Reed's parents seem to hail from England. Perhaps in 150 years later (of which Star Trek Enterprise takes place), Malaysia's My Second Home (MM2H) Programme has effectively attracted nationals from all over the world for long-term residence / retirement in our outlying cities and "beautiful beaches".

Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) informs Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) on the whereabouts of a colleague's parents in the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Silent Enemy".

Find all the references of Malaysia in Star Trek at Memory Alpha powered by Wikia.


START SPOILERS, beware reading further if you have yet to watch any episodes of Star Trek Discovery.

Avid followers of the series would be well aware that the Philippa Georgiou in this final episode is not the same version of the person starting the series. The original Captain Georgiou (also played by Michelle Yeoh) was killed by Klingons at the end of the series pilot in episode two "Battle at the Binary Stars". Michael Burnham bears the guilt of being unable to save her Captain or bring back her body (which was subsequently eaten; gross!).

Philippa Georgiou & Michael Burnham face off against Klingons in Episode 2 "Battle at the Binary Stars".

In true scifi fashion, Philippa Georgiou returns to Burnham and the Discovery, albeit another version from the Mirror Universe. This Georgiou is far from the compassionate nurturing mother-figure of the Prime Universe, but a ruthless dictator of the Terran Empire. Burnham saves the Terran Georgiou from certain death and brings her over to the Prime Universe. Through desperation on the losing side of the war with Klingons, Terran Georgiou in this final episode "Will You Take My Hand?" is appointed by Starfleet Command to take guise as the Prime Universe Georgiou to Captain the Discovery on a critical mission to end the war.

Here's the actual scene from the Episode "Will You Take My Hand?".

So in this context, viewers know that Burnham is testing Terran Georgiou on her guise as Prime Georgiou in front of the bridge crew. Therefore it could be said that Georgiou's replies may reflect the Terran counterpart instead of the Prime version. However, Burnham did not openly challenge her replies so it could be surmised both Malaysia and Langkawi may be consistent to the origins of the Prime Georgiou. And surely such background information should be readily available from Starfleet service records that Terran Georgiou would have studied prior to her assuming guise of Prime Georgiou.

Terran Georgiou posing as the Prime Georgiou on covert mission in the season finale.

As the episode plays out, we can be somewhat relieved that this Georgiou survives the season, albeit departing from the crew of the USS Discovery. It certainly leaves ample room for callback of Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh to reprise Georgiou in later seasons of Star Trek Discovery. And we will wait and see whether more Federation idealism rubs into Terran Georgiou steering her towards who was the Prime Georgiou. Though it was a fun ride watching the "evil" side of Michelle Yeoh as the Terrain Emperor since we are more used to seeing her in heroic character roles.

END SPOILERS

Another series on Netflix featuring Michelle Yeoh is Marco Polo. She portrays a martial arts warrior named Lotus in Season 2. This mega-budget series inspired from Marco Polo's journey in China during the rule of Kublai Khan was actually filmed in Malaysia at Pinewood Studios, Iskandar Johor. The production value is very impressive.

Whilst Philippa Georgiou's martial arts prowess was somewhat limited in Star Trek Discovery (why use swords when phasers are available), classic Michelle Yeoh kung fu action is part of Marco Polo:

For more out-of-this-world fantastical martial arts, watch the official sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon also available on Netflix titled Sword of Destiny. It also stars Donnie Yen and directed by Wo-Ping Yuen. Unlike the first movie, Sword of Destiny is in English as a Netflix Original Film.

Back to Star Trek, check out our resident Vulcan Mr Smock and Malaysian Trekkies Mr Enginer and Mr Thomas reviewing the finale episode and this first season of Star Trek Discovery:

Watch this video till the end as Smock will explain how to win a Netflix tote bag and complimentary subscription thanks to the nice people at Netflix. Help share this blog post as well and follow to get our latest posts as soon as they are transmitted.

Netflix goodies to giveaway. Watch our video review to find out how.

The entire first season of Star Trek Discovery is now streaming on Netflix and available to binge-watch at your leisure. Netflix also offers the entire Star Trek saga comprising over 700 episodes including the above-mentioned ones with references of Malaysia. Read out previous blog post that revealed the most popular Star Trek episodes watched by Netflix viewers. Also check out our rundown of Star Trek Discovery back when the series was just launched.

To connect with Malaysian Star Trek Fans, join the Facebook Group Starbase MY - Star Trek Fans Malaysia.

LIVE LONG & PROSPER #LLAP

Disclaimer: Star Trek and other trademarks are copyright to CBS and/or Paramount, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe. 

Produced for almost MYR1 billion, each planet in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets costs a cool Million!

In the year 1975, the last American Apollo rocket and the Soviet Soyuz 19 capsule docked in orbit around Earth for a project called Alpha. Around the year 2000, 16 nations worked together to build the International Space Station (ISS). Later in 2045, ISS was renamed back to Alpha. In 2099, a communication satellite named Omega made first contact with an extraterrestrial species. The first extraterrestrial ship docks with Alpha in 2135. In the centuries to come, more and more extraterrestrial species have joined to built their habitats on Alpha. Welcome to Alpha, the city of a thousand planets.

Official Synopsis:

VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS is the visually spectacular new adventure film from Luc Besson, the legendary director of The Professional, The Fifth Element and Lucy, based on the ground-breaking comic book series which inspired a generation of artists, writers and filmmakers. In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha - an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is directed by Luc Besson (The Professional, The Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita, Lucy). Starring Dane Dehaan (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Chronicle) as Major Valerian and Cara Delevingne (Suicide Squad, Paper Towns) as Sergeant Laureline. Alongside them is an accomplished troupe of performers. Clive Owen (Children of Men, television’s “The Knick”) as Commander Arün Filitt, Ethan Hawke (The Purge, Training Day) as Jolly the Pimp, John Goodman (Atomic Blonde, 10 Cloverfield Lane) as the voice of Igon Siruss, Kris Wu (XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Journey To the West: The Demons Strike Back) as Captain Neza, Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner, Batman Begins) as President of the World State Federation and Herbie Hancock (Oscar® and Grammy®-award winning composer) as Defense Minister. Making her fantasy film debut is global pop sensation Rihanna as Bubble.

Valerian (left) and Laureline with Director Luc Besson (centre)

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is based on the French sci-fi comic series called "Valerian and Laureline", originally called "Valerian - Spatiotemporal Agent", created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières. This series was first published in "Pilote" magazine in 1967. The final installment was published in 2010. It was a space opera with time travel plots. It has been compiled into a 21 volume graphic novel, with a short story collection and an encyclopedia. An animated television series called "Time Jam: Valerian and Laureline" was released in 2007. And now it has been adapted to the feature film format with the title Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

Specifically, the movie is based on the 6th volume of the comic series titled "Ambassador of the Shadows". While Alpha is not in the comics, it is inspired by Point Central, a space station of a thousand planets; A home to many extraterrestrial species and a center for intergalactic trade; An ever expanding metropolis where species all over the universe have gathered together over centuries to share their knowledge, intelligence and cultures. Valerian and Laureline were in charge of maintaining order throughout the human habitats. A dark force threatens the peaceful existence of Alpha and the duo has to identify the menace, protect Alpha and safeguard the future of the universe.

Scenes in Star Wars inspired by Valerian comics

For decades, "Valerian and Laureline" has influenced the sci-fi genre in many ways. You can see traces of the comic in Conan the Barbarian (although its not acually sci-fi), Independence Day and Star Wars to name a few. Let's take Star Wars since there are very profound similarities. A well-known Han Solo scene in "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980 is similar to the scene where Valerian was encased in liquid plastic in the issue "The Empire of a Thousand Planets" released in 1971. Leia's slave girl outfit in "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" is similar to Laureline's slave girl outfit in the issue "World Without Star" released in 1972. And Jabba the Hut's palace also seems similar to a setting in the issue "The Empire of a Thousand Planets". Besson's "Fifth Element" was also heavily influenced by "Valerian and Laureline", with Jean-Claude Mézières providing the concept art for the movie. This is something to keep in mind if you see something familiar or have a feeling of déjà vu when watching Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

When director Luc Besson was 10 years old, he found a magazine called "Pilote". Inside it he discovered the comic series "Valerian and Laureline" and instantly fell in love with it. This pair of sci-fi heroes have long fascinated generations of European children. They didn't have capes or superhuman abilities or machoistic elements. Valerian and Laureline were more like two normal cops, but they were in the weird and amazing 28th century. They were thinking liberal humanists with a green conscience. Cerebral shoot-'em-up heroes.

Major Valerian and Sergeant Laureline are two young agents working for the Spatio-Temporal Service, a source of law and order in the 28th century. Valerian always follows orders and is straight-edged, while Laureline is an independent free-spirited rebel. In the age of instant space-time travel, their mission is to patrol both history and the universe. They travel in a XB982, the B model of the Spatio-Temporal ships that can go back to 30 centuries in average and can go up to 1000 million light-years in time. Agents can go to the past with authorization, but not to the future. But unfortunately we won't see time-travel play in this movie because Besson has mentioned the movie is already complex enough without time-travel. Besson has hinted time-travel may play a role in a sequel if it were to be made.

Valerian (above) is a native of Galaxity, the capital of the Terran empire, and joined the Spatio-Temporal Service in the year 2713. He has been trained to think that Galaxity is always right even when his orders go against his morals. He is a man of action, has a sixth sense for tactics and is a brave warrior. Valerian met Laureline during a mission to 11th century France where she lived as a peasant. Laureline saved Valerian's life but accidentally discovers Valerian is a time-traveller. Valerian is forced to bring her to the 28th century. Laureline was trained to become a Spatio-Temporal agent and assigned to be Valerian's partner.

Laureline (above) is a redheaded female agent in the comics, but is a blonde in the movie. She has innate intelligence matched by her steely determination and impressive strength. “It was the 1970s, and it was the first time we saw this modern girl kicking ass,” Besson shares. Laureline was brave, kind, and always outsmarting her enemies. This was long before Hollywood discovered female empowerment.

Pop music artist Rihanna as shape-shifter Bubble.

Fans of Rihanna, a multi-platinum global pop star and rebellious fashion icon, will be delighted to know that she was Besson's first choice to play Bubble, the shape-shapeshifting "glampod". And she accepted straight away because she interested in tackling her first film role in the fantasy genre. She told Besson "I'm a beginner at acting and unless I work with someone who is good, I won't learn." Such honesty from a superstar! Besson explains "In our film, glampods are artists who've gone to school, so they know masters such as Shakespeare, Molière and Rimbaud, by heart. In that way, Bubble is the ultimate actress." Thus playing the role of Bubble is a very tall order. Just don't expect Rihanna to be singing or have a song in the movie. Besson specifically mentioned she wants her only as an actor.

K-Tron, security droid for Commander Arün Filitt. 

In the movie, fans of the comic series will see familiar faces come to life. Valerian and Laureline, The Spatio-Temporal Service, K-tron (those expensive ruthlessly efficient combat androids), Melo (a rainbow-colored pet lizard) and the many varied extraterrestrial species. Among those species, from the trailers, we can see some notable ones will appear in the movie: the Kortan Dahuk, the Khodar'Khan, the aquatic Marmaka, the Kamuniks, the Omelite, the Doghan Daguiz in the form of The Shingouz (a trio of information brokers) and the Pearls.

The Shingquoz are information brokers from an alien species called Doghan Daguiz.

This the most expensive independent European production ever. Luc Besson initially thought it was impossible to make, but he started write a script after he finished "The Fifth Element". Still the technology was not available to make such a movie... until "Avatar". Besson then saw that he could do everything. "Avatar" proved that imagination is the only limit. Then he threw away his script because he thought it was not good enough. James Cameron pushed the levels too high, so Besson wrote a new script.

Writer-Director Luc Besson on the set of Valerian.

"Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" took Besson 7 years to conceive, purportedly €197 million / RM0.975 billion to produce, and almost 2 years to edit. With those numbers, it is remarkable that the number of major studios involved is zero. America has not heard much about the Valerian comics, so Hollywood would be very hesitant to invest in a movie about the comics. Besson needed his own film studio. With his success with a string of TV and film projects that he wrote and produced, Besson started EuropaCorp to distribute his movies in France without any help from an outside distributor. With an established portfolio and his own studio ready, he took his script and sketches to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival three years ago with hopes of securing funding for the project. Besson secured 90 percent of the funding in one day.

Creators of Valerian Pierre Christin Jean-Claude Mézières with Luc Besson (centre).

So here's what we get for a production of almost RM1 billion:

"A movie that offers more things to see in every frame than you can find in some entire franchises."

David Ehrlich, IndieWire.

Well actually the real cost might be around 150 million reported by Forbes recently. What currency the costs is quoting in this article is not very clear. Whether Euro or US dollars it's still a massive amount when converted to over MYR 0.5 million per minute of film for it's 137 minute run time.

The official movie tie-in mobile game, Valerian: City of Alpha.

There is already mobile game movie tie-in out now for Android and iOS. This game has more extraterrestrial species from the comics than can be seen in the movie and is still improving. For more information, check out the official Valerian game website.

The official boardgame Valerian: The Alpha Missions coming out soon from Ultra Pro.

For tabletop gaming fans, Ultra Pro will release Valeran: The Alpha Missions in August, the first game under its license for games. Valerian: The Alpha Missions is a cooperative game where teams of agents go on a series of missions to explore the city and collectively decide to work together or split up to complete mission objectives. Intended for 2 to 4 players, ages 11 and up, each mission takes about 30 minutes to play.

Find Valerian's Skyjet at Pavilion KL, level 3, Fashion Avenue.

The Lexus Skyjet, pre-order now for delivery in the 28th Century!

At Pavilion KL there is a display of the Skyjet seen in the movie, provided by Lexus. Apparently Lexus and the Valerian creative team came up with the design of this single-seat pursuit craft. For more information, check out the official Lexus Malaysia website.

The Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has discovered some means to win some Valerian bounty. GSC Cinemas have 2 contests for you to win exclusive merchandise. The first one is on video at their Facebook page which ends this weekend on 23 July.

The second contest is on their website with more goodies, including an iPhone 7 Plus Special Edition. Just take a photo on a Valerian standee in any of the listed GSC cineplexes then post it to Instagram with hashtag #GSCvalerian. To see the prizes and other terms and condition head over to the GSC website.

UPDATE (21/7): The Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has 2 more contests to win Valerian merchandises. Honestly these 2 new contests will be blow your mind away.

mmCineplexes is running a Facebook contest which includes an exclusive tumbler. Like/react, answer a question, comment and tag 3 friends, and share the post for a chance to win something. Contest ends on 2 August 2017.

TGV Cinemas' contest has very surprising prizes. The Grand Prize includes, among other great items, a trip to Boracay, Phillipines for two! And the Second Prize includes, among other great items as well, a Samsung Gear VR with Controller! Contest ends on 03 August 2017.

A childhood fantasy coming to life, an epic sci-fi series that influenced the entire genre, a vision a lifetime in the making.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Cities will be in Malaysian cinemas on 20 July 2017 with this year coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of Valerian first published in 1967.

The official Twitter account of the movie is @ValerianMovie.

Disclaimer: Valerian & Laureline, Valerian & The City of a Thousand Planets and other trademarks are copyright to series creators  Pierre Christin & Jean-Claude Mézières and/or EuropaCorp, referenced here for fan service engagements without intent to infringe. Valerian & The City of a Thousand Planets is distributed in Malaysian by Rainfilms.