The Big Picture
Luc Besson’s eclectic filmography includes hits like
The Fifth Element
and misses like
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
The Incal
creators sued Besson over similarities in
The Fifth Element
, but the case was thrown out.
Taika Waititi is set to adapt
The Incal
, a comic hailed as a sci-fi masterpiece, into a film.
Luc Bessonhas a rather unique filmography. While some of the films he’s written and/or directed, including The Professional and Taken, have become staples in pop culture, other films – particularly Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets – are better tossed and left in the dustbin of history. Among his work, many consider Besson’s crowning achievement to be The Fifth Element, starring Bruce Willis as a soldier turned cab driver who winds up protecting a mysterious girl (Milla Jojovich) who is literally the key to stopping a dark force from engulfing the universe. The Fifth Element delivered a universe that was unlike anything else in science fiction at the time, both in terms of visual appeal and lore. It also had some great performances as Willis lends equal parts heart and snark to his cosmic cabbie Korben Dallas, while Jojovich’s Leeloo runs through a gauntlet of emotions. The Fifth Element wound up landing Besson in hot water when he was sued on the grounds that it bore more than a passing resemblance to Alejandro Jodorowsky and Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud’sgroundbreaking graphic novel The Incal.
What Is ‘The Incal’ About?
The Incal was born out of Jodorowsky’s failed attempt to adapt Dune to the big screen; he had hired Moebius as one of the storyboard artists, then started working with him on The Incal. The Incal tells the story of John Difool, a private investigator who comes into the possession of an extremely powerful crystal called the Light Incal. Difool ends up in a madcap dash to keep the Light Incal away from various warring factions, aided by a group of eclectic companions including his trusty concrete seagull, Deepo. The Incal and its sequels Before The Incal (illustrated by Zoran Janjetov) and Final Incal (illustrated by José Ladrönn) are regarded as some of the best stories in the comic book industry; Rolling Stone even ranked it on its “50 Best Non-Superhero Graphic Novels” list in 2019. It’s not hard to see why; Jodorwsky’s script dealt with a number of themes filtered through a sci-fi lens, including discovering one’s place in life, while Moebius’ artwork is a visual spectacle that practically demands to be seen in person.
Over the years, plenty of attempts have been made to adapt The Incal into film form. Nicolas Winding Refn was rumored to be at the helm of an adaptation in 2014, but he later dismissed it in 2016. There was also a crack at an animated version that never made it to the big screen. In 2021, The Incal publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés (or Humanoids) announced that Taika Waititi would be co-writing and directing an adaptation of The Incal; Jodorwsky later confirmed the news on Twitter. Given that Waititi’s adapted comics to the screen before with Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder, not to mention works like Jojo Rabbit that combined his offbeat sense of humor with heavy themes, The Incal felt like it was a perfect fit for his sensibilities.
Luc Besson Was Sued Over ‘The Fifth Element’ – And Won
Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius wound up suing Bessonbecause they believe he lifted visual and plot details wholesale from The Incal when crafting The Fifth Element. Like Difool, Korben is a down-on-his-luck regular joe who ends up getting thrust into a galaxy-spanning quest. There’s a mystical element at play; The Incal has a crystal, while The Fifth Element chooses to make its “element” take human form. Ultimately, the case was thrown out due to the fact that The Fifth Element only used “tiny fragments” of The Incal’s story, rather than copying it wholesale. There’s also the fact that Moebius had actually contributed concept art to The Fifth Element while it was in production and a number of films, including Blade Runner and The Matrix have drawn on his visual style. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that The Fifth Element would also draw similar inspiration from Moebius’ work.
The Incal case wasn’t the only time Besson went to court. When it came to The Fifth Element, Besson sued advertising agency Publicis and mobile phone company SFR for utilizing an ad that featured a mysterious red-headed womanplayed by none other than Jojovich, and argued that the ad was “parasitic” and could “hinder the film.” Similar to the Incal case, John Carpenter would successfully win a court case against Besson in 2012, when he pointed out how Besson’s action thriller Lockout pulled quite a bit from Escape in New York. More recently, Besson also went to court over more serious matters of sexual assault, but was cleared of the charges.
The Fifth Element is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
Watch on Hulu