Valerian, the wildly ambitious sci-fi opus in the works from Luc Besson, is set to get a spinoff mobile game in time for its theatrical release next summer.
In development at Spil Games, the tie-in has been pitched as a strategy game that will become available on mobile platforms just before Valerian‘s grand debut on July 21. Further details regarding pricing and platforms weren’t disclosed at this time, but we assume that that spinoff will be compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
“Spil Games impressed us with their vision and understanding of the world of Valerian,” Valerian producer Virginie Besson-Silla said Wednesday in making the announcement. Added Besson, the game will use “the movie’s back story to create what will be a completely immersive universe for players.”
“People are talking about this film as the spiritual successor to The Fifth Element,” commented Spil Games CEO Tung Nguyen-Khac. “I believe we can really intensify the audience experience around the themes and ideas within the movie. It’s no longer enough to make a game that just mimics the movie. Players want to dig further into the story but the game also has to be cool and fun to play in its own right.”
Inspired by the popular comic series Valérian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mezieres, Valerian is a space opera that thrusts Dane DeHaan and Suicide Squad‘s Cara Delevingne into the roles of elite time-travelling operatives, who safeguard a utopian 28th century Earth and its neighboring planets from baddies. Clive Owen, John Goodman, Rihanna, Rutger Hauer and Ethan Hawke are all on board.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets beams into theaters on July 21, 2017. The first footage debuted at San Diego Comic-Con a few months back, indicating that it shouldn’t be too long before that teaser hits the interwebs.