Bugonia's Writer Explains the Many Surprising Turns of Emma Stone's New Science Fiction Film

Bugonia screenwriter Will Tracy has a hazy memory of what happens in the original Korean movie. That’s a bit of a surprise, considering he wrote the script for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new reimagining of the original 2003 film. Rather than studying the source material for inspiration, the screenwriter behind his previous work watched the movie once, took a few notes, and got to work.

“I’ve only seen the original the one time,” Tracy states. “I didn’t really remember the film in great detail. My aim wasn't to feel like I had to be faithfully adapting or recreating or honoring someone else's vision. The fairest thing to both films 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 same in each movie, the variations are notable. To start, the writer rewrote the executive character, played by a man in Jang Joon-hwan’s first version, as a woman. (The director chose his regular partner the actress in the role.) The conclusions differ slightly as well, in the way they address their shared core mystery: Is the character an extraterrestrial or not?

The screenwriter believes that answer is somewhat irrelevant.

“I never was really focused on the surprise element,” he says. “My intention wasn't for the film to just be a toy that performs a single trick, and then after the reveal, it's like: OK, well, what else does this toy do?”

However, he has plenty to say on the topic. The interview with the screenwriter touched on Bugonia’s finale and what it all means, along with the methods he and the director collaborated to bring those twists to life.

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

Therefore, is Emma Stone an extraterrestrial or not?

In brief: Yes.

Similar to in Save the Green Planet, the conclusion of this version reveals that Stone’s character, a pharmaceutical executive named Michelle Fuller, is actually alien royalty in hiding. Once she manipulates her captor Teddy (the actor) into ending his own life using her teleportation technology, she beams back up to her alien vessel.

The reality that this is unexpected is a testament to her performance. During the 118-minute film, she maintains suspense through a layered portrayal that may require several rewatches to fully understand.

“She frequently discussed how it was the initial instance she had to act where she felt she had to be aware of people viewing it again. What the repeat viewers are going to think,” Tracy explains. "She was aware the second time a person watches this movie, They are aware I am conscious of… understand?”

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

Creating the Andromedons and their spaceship

Once the CEO ultimately shows her real identity, we get a brief glimpse of her ship and other extraterrestrials before the film ends. Their ship has a unique design, which the writer shares was meant to look like a sea creature while steering clear of high-tech visuals.

“[The director] was really fascinated by almost like a jellyfish-type design for the spaceship, something quite organic,” he says.

They should feel strangely kind of primitive or primitive.

The aliens' clothing is just as interesting as their ship: rounded dress-like garments made from thick, woven cords. Again, the goal was to defy conventional science fiction.

“For the costumes, rather than being futuristic, they [were meant to|aimed to] appear strangely kind of tribal or primitive, and yet also quite ornate and not primitive, because it's such an intricate and elegant creation on those strange knit costumes,” the writer says. He notes that Lanthimos “viewed it as being a very ancient civilization. He disliked the idea of any element being sleek and silver, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The conclusion of the Earth (or only humanity)

Perhaps the biggest difference between Bugonia and the original is that in the first version, the aliens respond to their ruler's abduction and abuse by blowing up planet Earth. Bugonia takes a slightly subtler approach, with its aliens opting to eliminate all mankind, while leaving the Earth and its other inhabitants unharmed.

“My intention to do in the screenplay was a depiction of the planet post-human existence,” Tracy explains.

In the film's conclusion, we see a sequence of scenes of life across the globe. All humans lie dead where they were standing just before, but the Earth continues. How viewers, are meant to make of these events is open to discussion. Is the ending of the film optimistic or bleak? Are people doomed or worth saving? Is the planet be better off without us?

The screenwriter isn’t willing to provide a definitive answer in any direction.

“Some people see it as a very bleak ending, or a tragic finale, a despairing ending,” he states. “Different audiences see it as being a oddly hopeful or positive conclusion. I think there's different ways to understand it.”

The film is currently in limited theatrical release at present, with a wide release on Oct. 31.