The Screenwriter Explains the Numerous Unexpected Turns of Emma Stone's New Sci-Fi Movie

Bugonia screenwriter Will Tracy doesn’t really remember what happens in the original Korean movie. It's a little surprising, considering he crafted the screenplay for the director’s new reimagining of the original 2003 film. Instead of analyzing the original script for ideas, the writer behind The Menu viewed the film a single time, jotted down some thoughts, and began writing.

“I’ve only seen Save the Green Planet once,” Tracy states. “I couldn't clearly recall the movie in great detail. My aim wasn't to feel like I had to be faithfully adapting or recreating or honoring another filmmaker's work. The most respectful approach to those movies was to have them be judged separately.”

While the premise of a mentally unstable man (the actor in the new version) who abducts a pharmaceutical executive he’s certain is an alien in disguise is pretty much the same in both films, the differences are significant. To start, Tracy re-envisioned the lead role, played by a man in the director's original, as a woman. (The director cast his regular partner the actress in the role.) The conclusions differ slightly as well, in the way they tackle their shared core mystery: Is this person an extraterrestrial or not?

Tracy feels that resolution is somewhat beside the point.

“I wasn't really concerned with the twist aspect,” he says. “My intention wasn't for the movie to just be a gadget that does a single trick, and then once it does that surprise, it's like: OK, well, what else does this toy do?”

However, he has a lot to say on the topic. The interview with the writer touched on Bugonia’s finale and its implications, along with the ways he and the director collaborated to bring those twists to life.

Warning: Complete details ahead for the conclusion of the movie.

So is the character an alien or not?

In brief: Absolutely.

Similar to in Save the Green Planet, the conclusion of Bugonia reveals that Stone’s character, a pharmaceutical executive named Michelle Fuller, is actually alien royalty in disguise. Once she manipulates her captor the unstable man (Plemons) into killing himself using her advanced device, she transports to her alien vessel.

The fact that this is unexpected is a proof to Stone’s acting skills. During the 118-minute film, she maintains suspense through a complex performance that may require multiple viewings to fully understand.

“Emma talked a lot about how it was the first time she had to act where she felt she had to be conscious of people watching the movie a second time. How those rewatching are going to think,” the writer says. "She was aware the upon a repeat viewing someone sees this movie, They are aware I am conscious of… you know?”

Tracy trails off, before adding, “Thus, her performance needed to reflect of that in her acting.”

Creating the aliens and their vessel

Once Stone’s character finally does reveal her true nature, we get a quick look of her spaceship and fellow aliens before Bugonia ends. Their vessel has a unique design, which the writer reveals was intended to look like a sea creature while steering clear of futuristic aesthetics.

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

The goal was for them to seem strangely somewhat primitive or primitive.

The aliens' attire is just as interesting as their ship: bulbous dress-like garments made from large, ropey threads. Once more, the aim was to go against conventional science fiction.

“Regarding the attire, instead of being advanced, they [were meant to|aimed to] appear unusually kind of tribal or primitive, and yet also highly decorative and not primitive, because it's a very detailed and elegant creation on those unusual woven outfits,” Tracy states. He adds that Lanthimos “viewed it as being a extremely old society. He disliked the notion of any element being smooth and metallic, or some ultra-modern cosmic vision.”

The end of the Earth (or just humankind)

Perhaps the most significant change between Bugonia and Save the Green Planet is that in the original Korean movie, the extraterrestrials respond to their leader's kidnapping and mistreatment by blowing up planet Earth. Bugonia adopts a slightly subtler approach, with its aliens choosing to snuff out all human life, while leaving the Earth and its other inhabitants unharmed.

“My intention to achieve in the script was a depiction of the planet post-human existence,” the writer says.

In the movie’s final moments, we see a series of shots of life across the globe. Every person lie dead where they were located just before, but the world keeps spinning. What we, as an audience, are meant to interpret these events is open to discussion. Is the ending of the film optimistic or pessimistic? Is humanity doomed or worth saving? Would the world be improved without us?

The screenwriter does not wish to offer a clear resolution in any direction.

“Some people find it to be a extremely dark conclusion, or a sad finale, a hopeless ending,” he says. “Different audiences view it as being a oddly hopeful or happy ending. I think there are various interpretations to read it.”

The film is in select cinemas at present, with a broader opening on Halloween.