Bugonia's Screenwriter Details the Numerous Unexpected Twists of the Latest Sci-Fi Movie

Bugonia screenwriter the writer barely recalls what happens in the original Korean movie. It's a little surprising, considering he wrote the screenplay for Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest reimagining of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Instead of analyzing the original script for inspiration, the screenwriter behind The Menu watched the movie a single time, jotted down some thoughts, and began writing.

“I watched Save the Green Planet the one time,” the screenwriter says. “My memory was foggy on the film all that well. I didn't want to feel as though I had to be faithfully adapting or remaking or paying tribute to another filmmaker's work. The most respectful approach to both films was to have them be judged separately.”

While the premise of a mentally unstable man (Jesse Plemons in Bugonia) who kidnaps a business leader he’s convinced is an extraterrestrial hiding on Earth is largely the identical in both films, the variations are considerable. For one thing, Tracy re-envisioned the executive character, played by a man in Jang Joon-hwan’s original, as a woman. (The director chose his frequent collaborator the actress in the part.) The conclusions vary a bit as well, in the way they tackle their shared core mystery: Is this person an extraterrestrial or not?

The screenwriter feels that resolution is somewhat beside the point.

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

However, Tracy has plenty to discuss on the topic. Our discussion with the writer covered Bugonia’s ending and its implications, along with the ways he and the director collaborated to bring those twists to life.

Warning: Full spoilers follow for the ending of the movie.

Therefore, is the character an extraterrestrial or not?

In brief: Absolutely.

Just like in the original film, the end of Bugonia discloses that Stone’s character, a big pharma CEO named her character, is in fact a royal extraterrestrial in hiding. After tricking her captor Teddy (the actor) into killing himself using her teleportation technology, she beams back up to her alien vessel.

The reality that this is unexpected is a testament to Stone’s acting skills. During the two-hour movie, she maintains suspense through a complex portrayal that may require multiple viewings to comprehend entirely.

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

He pauses, before continuing, “So she had to be aware of that in her acting.”

Designing the aliens and their vessel

After Stone’s character ultimately shows her true nature, we get a quick look of her ship and other extraterrestrials before the film concludes. Their ship has a distinct appearance, which the writer shares was meant to look like a marine animal while avoiding high-tech visuals.

“[Yorgos] was really interested in almost like a jellyfish-type design for the spaceship, something quite organic,” he comments.

The goal was for them to seem strangely somewhat tribal or ancient.

The Andromedons’ attire is just as interesting as their vessel: bulbous robes made from large, ropey threads. Again, the aim was to defy sci-fi movie tradition.

“For the costumes, instead of being advanced, 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 elegant creation on those unusual woven outfits,” Tracy says. He notes that the director “thought of it as being a extremely old society. He wasn't into the notion of any element being smooth and metallic, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The end of the Earth (or just humankind)

Perhaps the biggest difference between Bugonia and Save the Green Planet is that in the original Korean movie, the aliens react to their leader's kidnapping and abuse by blowing up the world. This adaptation adopts a somewhat more nuanced approach, with its beings opting to eliminate all mankind, while keeping the planet and its other inhabitants unharmed.

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

In the movie’s final moments, we see a sequence of scenes of life across the globe. All humans lie dead where they were located moments earlier, but the world continues. How viewers, are meant to make of these events is open to discussion. Does the conclusion of Bugonia optimistic or pessimistic? Are people doomed or deserving of rescue? Would the world be better off without us?

The screenwriter isn’t willing to provide a clear resolution in any direction.

“Some people see it as a very bleak ending, or a sad finale, a hopeless ending,” he states. “Different audiences view it as being a strangely optimistic or positive ending. I think there's different ways to read it.”

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