Luc Besson calls Rihanna a 'gifted actress' for playing an alien stripper in Valerian

The much-awaited trailer for Luc Besson's science fiction epic, Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets, was premiered at the Sa Diego Comic Con. Fans were aware of lead actors, Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne's role in the movie but Rihanna's first look in the movie surprises onlookers during the event.

The Anti album hitmaker plays a stripper in an alien bar run by Ethan Hawke's character. Post the Comic Con, director Besson answered fan queries during a Twitter Q&A session and raved about the 28-year-old singer's acting talent in the book-to-movie adaptation. He said: "I chose her as an actress, not as a singer and I was surprised with what a gifted actress she is."

The director also answers one of Delevingne's questions about his favourite scene from the upcoming movie. "The 1,5 minute shot with the Steadicam filming you and @danedehaan chatting through the entire spaceship."

"It's about two space agents who go through time and space... and they're so cute. I fell in love with Laureline, but I wanted to be Valerian," Besson told Empire online. He also explained how James Cameron's Avatar had unknowingly delayed his project. "I said, 'It's just not possible — it's ten per cent humans and 90 per cent aliens. But I bought the rights anyway and wrote a version that was pretty good. Then Avatar came and I threw my script in the garbage."

The Comic-Con footage is yet to premiere online. The filming for the dystopian movie wrapped a few weeks ago and is scheduled to premiere in July next year.