The Beatles’ ‘Because’ Featured in First ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ Trailer
An original Beatles recording has made its first appearance in a movie trailer — and all it took was several decades and a polite request from director Luc Besson.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that the first trailer for Besson's upcoming sci-fi epic Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets uses the Beatles' "Because," which marks the first time one of the band's original tracks has been licensed in this way. Given all the time it took to reach this milestone, one might assume the band's representatives were opposed, but Besson says that wasn't the case at all.
"I just asked! We reached out to Paul McCartney, and he asked, ‘What is the film?’ and then he said yes! I never met him – I wish I could, to thank him. From what I heard, he’s seen a couple of my films," Besson told CinemaBlend. "There is a vibe that I think, from what I heard, made him say, ‘For this one, because it’s at least new and fresh.’ So I think that he likes that. He likes to be part of something new."
The soundtrack isn't Valerian's only tie to the Fab Four. Those who watch the trailer, embedded above, will notice an appearance by Rihanna, who plays a character described by Billboard as "an alien stripper." As fans will no doubt recall, Rihanna worked with McCartney and Kanye West on the recent single "FourFiveSeconds," which gave the former Beatle his first Top Five hit in more than 30 years.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which is due to arrive in theaters next summer, stars Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne as a pair of time-traveling young lovers, and represents the culmination of a decades-long effort by Besson to adapt the French comics Valérian and Laureline, published in strips and graphic novels starting in the '60s. As Besson told THR, he endured further years of development after watching James Cameron's Avatar and understanding he needed to start from scratch.
"It's like you watched Usain Bolt and thought, 'OK, I'm not going to go into the Olympics. … I want to be behind Usain Bolt, but I want him to look at me. I was depressed — happy for [James Cameron], but depressed for me," said Besson. "But I'm happy now, because it's better. I was right to throw it out."
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