Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets centers on a titular duo of space- and time-traveling agents. The cast also includes Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu. [Photo provided to China Daily]

French director Luc Besson was in Beijing in the weekend, wearing a T-shirt with images of the characters from his latest movie, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

The film is adapted from the French sci-fi comics series Valerian and Laureline, which was first published in 1967.

It centers on a titular duo of space- and time-traveling agents, who discover a thrilling secret during a galactic mission.

It's the most expensive movie in Besson's decadeslong career, with a budget of up to $210 million.

With over 2,700 special-effects shots－much more than his 1997 hit, The Fifth Element－this movie shows an international space station where 3,236 alien species speak 5,000 languages.

Valerian will open across the Chinese mainland on Friday, against Hollywood rivals, such as Disney's animated movie Cars 3 and the Oscar-winning drama Manchester by the Sea.

But the new movie has more significance than numbers for the 58-year-old filmmaker.

"My father offered me the first book of Valerian (the comic) when I was 10 years old," says Besson, recalling his early fascination with the story.

Besson's biggest anticipation during his teen years was to read the latest story of Valerian, the space- and time-traveling operative.

Besson began to write the script around eight years ago but once quit after visiting fellow filmmaker James Cameron's filming set of Avatar, the 2009 sci-fi epic that's considered a revolution in cinematic technology.