Bugonia's Screenwriter Discusses the Countless Unexpected Turns of Emma Stone's Latest Science Fiction Movie

The film writer Will Tracy barely recalls what happens in the original Korean movie. That’s a bit of a surprise, given that he crafted the script for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new reimagining of the original 2003 film. Rather than poring over the original script for ideas, the screenwriter behind his previous work viewed the film once, jotted down some thoughts, and started the process.

“I’ve only seen Save the Green Planet once,” Tracy says. “My memory was foggy on the film in great detail. My aim wasn't to feel as though I had to be faithfully adapting or remaking or paying tribute to someone else's vision. The most respectful approach to those movies was to have them each stand on their own.”

While the basic plot of a mentally unstable man (the actor in Bugonia) who kidnaps a pharmaceutical executive he’s certain is an alien in disguise is pretty much the identical in each movie, the differences are considerable. Firstly, the writer rewrote the lead role, originally male in the director's first version, as a female character. (The director chose his regular partner Emma Stone in the role.) The conclusions differ slightly as well, in the way they address their shared core mystery: Is this person an extraterrestrial or not?

The screenwriter feels that answer is somewhat irrelevant.

“I wasn't really concerned with the twist aspect,” he comments. “I didn't want the film to just be a toy that performs one surprise, and then after the reveal, it's like: Alright, so what's next?”

Nevertheless, he has plenty to discuss on the topic. Our discussion with the screenwriter covered the film’s ending and what it all means, along with the methods he and Lanthimos collaborated to bring those twists to life.

Spoiler Alert: Complete details ahead for the ending of Bugonia.

Therefore, is the character an alien or not an alien?

In brief: Absolutely.

Similar to in the original film, the conclusion of this version discloses that the CEO, a pharmaceutical executive named Michelle Fuller, is actually alien royalty in disguise. Once she manipulates her captor Teddy (Plemons) into ending his own life using her advanced device, she transports to her alien vessel.

The fact that this is unexpected is a testament to Stone’s acting skills. Throughout the two-hour movie, she maintains suspense through a complex portrayal that may require several rewatches to comprehend entirely.

“She talked a lot about how it was the first time she had to give a performance where she felt she had to be aware of people viewing it again. How those rewatching are going to perceive,” Tracy explains. "She was aware the upon a repeat viewing someone sees this film, They know that I know that I'm… you know?”

He trails off, before adding, “So she had to be aware of that in her acting.”

Creating the aliens and their vessel

Once Stone’s character ultimately shows her true nature, we get a brief glimpse of her spaceship and fellow aliens before Bugonia concludes. Their ship has a unique design, which Tracy shares was intended to look like a sea creature while steering clear of high-tech visuals.

“[The director] was really interested in almost like a jellyfish-inspired shape for the vessel, something quite organic,” he says.

They should feel strangely somewhat primitive or ancient.

The aliens' clothing is equally fascinating as their ship: rounded robes made from large, ropey threads. Again, the aim was to defy conventional science fiction.

“Regarding the attire, instead of being futuristic, they [were meant to|aimed to] feel strangely somewhat primitive or basic, and yet also highly decorative and not primitive, because it's a very detailed and beautiful design on those strange knit costumes,” the writer states. He notes that Lanthimos “viewed it as being a very ancient civilization. He wasn't into the notion of anything being smooth and metallic, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The conclusion of the Earth (or just humankind)

Maybe the biggest difference between the new film and Save the Green Planet is that in the original Korean movie, the extraterrestrials respond to their leader's kidnapping and abuse by destroying the world. Bugonia adopts a slightly subtler approach, with its aliens opting to eliminate all human life, while leaving the planet and its remaining creatures unharmed.

“What I wanted to achieve in the script was a vision of Earth post-human existence,” Tracy says.

In the film's conclusion, we see a sequence of scenes of life across the globe. All humans lie dead where they were located moments earlier, but the world keeps spinning. What we, as an audience, are supposed to make of all this is up for debate. Is the ending of the film optimistic or pessimistic? Is humanity fated to perish or deserving of rescue? Would the world be improved without us?

The screenwriter does not wish to provide a clear resolution either way.

“Some people find it to be a extremely dark ending, or a sad ending, a despairing ending,” he states. “Other people view it as being a oddly hopeful or happy conclusion. I think there's different ways to understand it.”

Bugonia is in select cinemas now, with a wide release on Oct. 31.