Lexus has recently announced the formation of a creative partnership with film studio EuropaCorp. One of the early highlights of this collaboration will be the highly anticipated 2017 science fiction film, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, starring Cara Delevingne and Dane DeHaan. Lexus collaborated with the Valerian creative team, as they imagined and brought to life the vision for the SKYJET, a single-seat pursuit craft featured in the film.
An epic teaser trailer unveiled online recently (http://valerianmovie.com), giving fans a long-awaited first look at footage from the film. Viewers will also get a first glimpse of the SKYJET maneuvering through the intergalactic citadel of Alpha.
The Valerian team created the SKYJET with the ambition of featuring a vehicle grounded in reality but befitting of the Valerian world, set 700 years in the future. The creative team met with Lexus’ Chief Engineer, Takeaki Kato and the Lexus design team, to discuss incorporating believable, imaginative technologies and contemporary design cues into the final iteration of the SKYJET.
The SKYJET design also incorporates an adapted interpretation of Lexus’ signature “spindle” grille, and a similar headlight design to that of the hotly anticipated 2018 Lexus LC coupe, defined by an athletic and aerodynamic shape.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets features an all-star cast including Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke, Rihanna, and Kris Wu. The project marks Luc Besson’s most ambitious film to date and the largest-budget European motion picture ever produced. The feature film is an adaptation of the French comic series ‘Valérian,’ written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières. The film is produced by Virginie Besson-Silla.
Commenting on the partnership, director Luc Besson said, “For this partnership, we were looking for a brand that’s pioneering in innovation and technology, which is focused on the future more than the past.”
The brand is set to provide unique fan experiences over the next nine months, designed to bring enthusiasts from around the world closer to the action leading up to the film’s release in July 2017.
Commenting on the development of the SKYJET, David Nordstrom, Global Branding Department General Manager at Lexus, added: “As fans of films and Luc’s previous work, Lexus is privileged to help bring Luc’s dream to life. We enjoyed the challenge of bringing Lexus’ 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.”
“At Lexus, we are committed as a luxury lifestyle brand, to being part of innovations that provide our customers with amazing experiences that inspire and excite them in one form or another – whether it is through our industry-leading developments that are shaping the future of the automotive industry globally or through our collaborations with a global film and television studio like EuropaCorp,” said Takayuki Yoshitsugu, Chief Representative of Middle East & North Africa Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation.
Yoshitsugu added: “With the aim of supporting and nurturing a new generation of emerging filmmakers, we have always sought new ways to tell our brand story and excite film fans and customers alike. Our team is thrilled to have been involved with the design and development of the SKYJET spacecraft, which in many ways, is a reflection of our passion to go beyond the boundaries of the automotive world and we look forward to seeing our team’s efforts translate into cinematic brilliance in the much-anticipated movie. We would like to thank our customers for the confidence and trust they place in us, which ultimately power our ambitions to continue entering into unique partnerships.”