Let’s be honest: Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) was a beautiful, chaotic mess. It had the most expensive opening 20 minutes of any film in history (the breathtaking "Space Oddity" sequence) and some of the clunkiest dialogue ever spoken by leads who had zero romantic chemistry.

But here we are, six years later, still talking about it. Why? Because the was unmatched.

That is a killer premise. Probably not financially. But creatively? Absolutely.

Think about it: Alpha has absorbed the tech and biology of 1,000+ worlds. What if it develops a hive mind? What if it decides that humans are a virus? The third film would see Valerian and Laureline fighting the very station they swore to protect .

Enjoyed this deep dive? Check out our other posts on underrated sci-fi flops like Jupiter Ascending and John Carter.

The biggest sin of the original was casting two actors who acted like annoyed siblings rather than lovers. For Valerian 3 , you need a "Die Hard in Space" dynamic. Give us a grizzled, older Valerian (think a younger Bruce Willis) and a Laureline who isn't rolling her eyes every three seconds.

In an era of safe Marvel quips and grey Star Wars landscapes, Valerian was a neon-drenched, weird, proud failure. A third chapter—leaner, meaner, and recast—could turn this trilogy into the ultimate cult classic of the 2020s.

Until then, I’ll keep streaming the original just for that market scene on the hyper-dimensional beach.