Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Valerian receives a telepathic signal from the Mül princess during the planet's destruction. This psychic message, sent moments before the explosion, reaches Valerian in his dreams. The princess was reaching out for help, and her desperate telepathic cry became implanted in Valerian's subconscious, giving him visions of the disaster before it was publicly known.

Foreshadowing: The dream appears early in the film, establishing that Valerian has a personal connection to the Mül tragedy long before he learns the truth.

• valerian dream
• mül planet
• prophetic dream
• telepathic signal
• princess

The Mül converter is a small creature from the planet Mül that has the ability to replicate anything it consumes, including currency. It's the last of its kind and extremely valuable. The converter can duplicate pearls, money, or virtually any object, making it a powerful tool worth fortunes on the black market.

Foreshadowing: The converter's duplicating ability becomes crucial at the film's climax when Valerian offers it to the Mül survivors.

• mül converter
• replicator
• black market
• pearl
• creature

The humanoids attack the summit to capture Commander Filitt because he ordered the destruction of their home planet Mül. For years, they have lived secretly in Alpha's contaminated zone, planning to confront the human responsible for genocide against their people. Kidnapping Filitt allows them to force him to publicly admit his crime.

Foreshadowing: The attack occurs during the inter-station summit, which was called to address the toxin crisis that the humanoids deliberately caused to draw attention.

• humanoids attack
• summit
• kidnap filitt
• mül revenge

Planet Mül was destroyed by human forces under Commander Filitt's direct orders. During a battle with an enemy fleet in orbit around Mül, Filitt authorized the use of a devastating doomsday weapon that annihilated both the enemy ships and the entire planet's surface, killing millions of peaceful Mül inhabitants including the royal family.

Foreshadowing: Valerian witnesses this destruction in his prophetic dream, though he doesn't initially understand what he's seeing.

• mül planet
• destruction
• genocide
• filitt
• doomsday weapon

Bubble is a shapeshifting dancer who assists Valerian and Laureline after they are captured by the Mül tribe. Though not a Mül native herself, Bubble has some connection to the community and chooses to aid the protagonists in rescuing Laureline. She sacrifices her life during the escape, urging Valerian to continue pursuing Laureline before dying from her injuries.

Foreshadowing: Bubble's assistance proves essential to Valerian reaching the hidden hall where the Mül survivors reveal their history.

• bubble
• shapeshifter
• dancer
• sacrifice
• mül tribe

Filitt admits to ordering the genocide because the Mül survivors trap him and force a public confession. He defends his actions by claiming the doomsday strike was a necessary evil to end the war with the enemy fleet, and that covering up the massacre was essential to preserve human interests and peace in Alpha. He believes he made the hard choice to protect humanity.

Foreshadowing: Filitt's admission confirms what Valerian saw in his dream and reveals the conspiracy behind the cover-up.

• filitt confession
• genocide
• cover-up
• justification
• war crime

The hidden spaceship is a massive vessel constructed by the Mül survivors inside Alpha's contaminated zone. Unable to return to their destroyed homeworld, the survivors built a replica of paradise using their advanced knowledge absorbed from a crashed spaceship. This vessel serves as both their home and their means to escape Alpha and find a new world.

Foreshadowing: The spaceship represents the Mül people's hope for redemption and a new beginning after their tragic past.

• hidden spaceship
• mül survivors
• paradise ship
• replica
• escape

Valerian offers the pearl he stole from the black market as a gift to the Mül humanoids. The pearl, harvested from Mül's energy-rich waters, represents their lost home and culture. By giving the pearl to the survivors, Valerian demonstrates his commitment to helping them and contributes something precious to their journey toward finding a new paradise.

Foreshadowing: The pearl connects to the Mül people's traditions of harvesting energy pearls from their planet's creatures.

• pearl
• mül pearl
• gift
• energy
• paradise

The contaminated zone appears toxic and radioactive, but it's actually perfectly safe. The Mül survivors deliberately created the illusion of a hazardous area to deter humans from discovering their hidden settlement. The 'toxin' infecting the station's core was also manufactured by the humanoids to draw attention and force the summit that would bring Filitt to them.

Foreshadowing: The fake contamination serves as both protection and a lure to execute their revenge plan.

• contaminated zone
• radiation
• toxin
• disguise
• mül hideout

Their relationship evolves from professional partners with unresolved tension to a committed couple. Valerian proposes early on but Laureline rejects him due to his flirty behavior. Throughout the mission, they prove their trust and partnership. At the climax, after surviving the showdown and helping the Mül people, they finally confess their love to each other while dreaming of reaching their own paradise together.

Foreshadowing: The romantic subplot builds throughout the action, culminating in their mutual confession at the film's happy ending.

• valerian
• laureline
• romance
• love confession
• partnership

Valerian steals the pearl intending it as a surprise wedding gift for Laureline. He notices the pearl during the mission to acquire the converter and decides to take it as a romantic gesture, not knowing it would later become significant to the Mül survivors' journey.

Foreshadowing: The stolen pearl gains deeper meaning when Valerian learns about Mül's pearl-harvesting culture.

• pearl theft
• wedding gift
• surprise
• romantic gesture

The Big Market is a bustling trading hub within Alpha where alien species from across the universe gather to buy and sell goods. It's where Valerian and Laureline track down the black market dealer possessing the Mül converter. The market's chaos and crowded nature provide cover for illegal transactions and make it a key location for the film's opening mission.

Foreshadowing: The market scene establishes the multicultural nature of Alpha and introduces the converter early in the story.

• big market
• alpha
• black market
• trading hub
• mül converter