Director, screenwriter and producer Luc Besson’s new sci-fi film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets will feature a SKYJET concept vehicle from Lexus.
Lexus’ involvement is part of a creative partnership with EuropaCorp the Paris-based film studio founded by Luc Besson. Set in the 28th century, the new science fiction film is scheduled for release next year and stars Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke, Cara Delevingne, Dane DeHann and Rihanna.
Lexus designers joined the film’s creative team to bring to life the SKYJET, a single-seat pursuit craft that appears in the movie. The production team wanted the SKYJET to be a vehicle grounded in the real world, but appropriate for life in the age of Valerian, 700 years in the future. They took advice from Lexus Chief Engineer Takeaki Kato and the Lexus design team on how to incorporate imaginative technologies and contemporary design cues into the final iteration of the spacecraft.
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Check out the movie trailer for 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ below...
The SKYJET’s design interprets the brand’s signature spindle grille and a headlight design - similar to that of the new Lexus LC coupe, which is also set for launch in 2017.
The feature, directed by Besson, is an adaptation of the French comic series Valérian, written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières, and is produced by Virginie Besson-Silla. Commenting on the new partnership, Besson said: “For this partnership we were looking for a brand that’s pioneering in innovation and technology, and which is focused on the future more than the past.”
Commenting on the development of the SKYJET, David Nordstrom, Global Branding Department General Manager at Lexus, said: “As fans of film and Luc Besson’s work, Lexus is privileged to bring the director’s dream to life. We enjoyed the challenge of bringing Lexus’s design philosophy and technology innovations to this project. We look forward to developing our partnership with EuropaCorp as we strive to give audiences the most amazing experiences imaginable in the coming years.”