The Writer Discusses the Numerous Surprising Turns of the Latest Sci-Fi Film

Bugonia writer Will Tracy has a hazy memory of what happens in the original Korean movie. It's a little surprising, since he wrote the screenplay for the director’s latest reimagining of the original 2003 film. Instead of poring over the original script for inspiration, the screenwriter behind The Menu viewed the movie once, jotted down some thoughts, and got to work.

“I’ve only seen Save the Green Planet the one time,” Tracy says. “I couldn't clearly recall the movie all that well. I didn't want to feel as though I had to be faithfully adapting or recreating or paying tribute to another filmmaker's work. The most respectful approach to both films was to have them each stand on their own.”

While the premise of a emotionally troubled man (the actor in Bugonia) who abducts a business leader he’s convinced is an alien in disguise is mostly the same in both films, the differences are notable. To start, the writer rewrote the lead role, originally male in the director's original, as a woman. (Lanthimos chose his frequent collaborator Emma Stone in the role.) The conclusions differ slightly too, in the way they tackle their shared core mystery: Is the character an alien in disguise or not?

The screenwriter feels that resolution is somewhat irrelevant.

“I never was really concerned with the surprise element,” he comments. “My intention wasn't for the movie to just be a toy that does a single trick, and then once it does that surprise, it's like: Alright, so what's next?”

However, Tracy has plenty to discuss on the topic. Our discussion with the screenwriter touched on Bugonia’s ending and its implications, along with the ways he and Lanthimos collaborated to execute those surprises.

Warning: Complete details follow for the ending of Bugonia.

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

Short answer: Absolutely.

Similar to in Save the Green Planet, the end of Bugonia reveals that Stone’s character, a big pharma CEO named Michelle Fuller, is in fact alien royalty in hiding. After tricking her captor Teddy (Plemons) into ending his own life using her teleportation technology, Fuller transports to her Andromedon spaceship.

The reality that this comes as a surprise is a proof to Stone’s acting skills. During the two-hour movie, she keeps audiences guessing through a layered portrayal that may take multiple viewings to fully understand.

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

Tracy trails off, before continuing, “Thus, her performance needed to reflect this awareness in her performance.”

Designing the Andromedons and their vessel

Once the CEO ultimately shows her true nature, we get a quick look of her spaceship and fellow aliens before the film concludes. Their ship has a distinct appearance, which the writer shares was intended to look like a sea creature while steering clear of high-tech visuals.

“[Yorgos] was really interested in almost like a jellyfish-inspired shape for the spaceship, something very natural,” Tracy says.

They should feel strangely somewhat tribal or primitive.

The aliens' clothing is equally fascinating as their vessel: rounded dress-like garments made from thick, woven cords. Once more, the aim was to go against conventional science fiction.

“For the costumes, instead of being advanced, they [were meant to|aimed to] appear strangely somewhat primitive or basic, and yet also quite ornate and sophisticated, because it's such an intricate and beautiful design on those strange knit costumes,” the writer says. He notes that Lanthimos “thought of it as being a very ancient civilization. He wasn't into the notion of any element being sleek and silver, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The conclusion of the Earth (or just humanity)

Perhaps the most significant change between Bugonia and Save the Green Planet is that in the first version, the extraterrestrials respond to their ruler's abduction and mistreatment by destroying the world. This adaptation takes a somewhat more nuanced approach, with its beings opting to snuff out all human life, while leaving the planet and its other inhabitants unharmed.

“My intention to achieve in the script was a depiction of the planet after humanity,” Tracy says.

In the film's conclusion, we see a sequence of scenes of life across the planet. All humans are deceased where they were standing just before, but the Earth continues. How viewers, are supposed to make of all this is open to discussion. Does the conclusion of the film optimistic or bleak? Is humanity fated to perish or deserving of rescue? Would the world be better off without us?

The screenwriter isn’t willing to provide a clear resolution either way.

“Certain viewers see it as a extremely dark conclusion, or a tragic ending, a despairing ending,” he says. “Other people view it as being a strangely hopeful or happy ending. I think there's different ways to read it.”

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