The Writer Discusses the Countless Unexpected Turns of the New Sci-Fi Film

Bugonia writer the writer has a hazy memory of what happens in Save the Green Planet!. It's a little surprising, given that he crafted the script for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new reimagining of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Rather than studying the original script for ideas, the screenwriter behind his previous work watched the movie a single time, took a few notes, and started the process.

“I watched Save the Green Planet the one time,” the screenwriter states. “I didn’t really remember the movie all that well. I didn't want to feel as though I had to be slavishly following or recreating or honoring another filmmaker's work. The most respectful approach to both films was to have them exist independently.”

While the basic plot of a emotionally troubled man (the actor in Bugonia) who abducts a business leader he’s convinced is an extraterrestrial hiding on Earth is mostly the identical in each movie, the variations are considerable. Firstly, the writer rewrote the executive character, played by a man in the director's first version, as a female character. (The director cast his regular partner the actress in the role.) The endings differ slightly as well, in the way they tackle their shared core mystery: Is the character an extraterrestrial or not?

Tracy believes that resolution is somewhat not the main focus.

“I wasn't really concerned with the surprise element,” he comments. “I didn't want the film 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?”

Nevertheless, Tracy has plenty to say on the subject. Our discussion with the writer touched on Bugonia’s ending and its implications, along with the methods he and Lanthimos worked together to execute those surprises.

Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers ahead for the ending of Bugonia.

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

Short answer: Yes.

Similar to in the original film, the end of Bugonia reveals that the CEO, a big pharma CEO named Michelle Fuller, is actually a royal extraterrestrial in disguise. Once she manipulates her kidnapper Teddy (the actor) into ending his own life using her advanced device, Fuller beams back up to her Andromedon spaceship.

The fact that this is unexpected is a testament to her performance. During the 118-minute movie, she keeps audiences guessing through a layered portrayal that may take several rewatches to fully understand.

“She frequently discussed how it was the initial instance she had to give a performance where she felt she had to be conscious of people watching the movie a second time. What the repeat viewers are going to think,” the writer explains. "She knew the second time someone sees this film, They know that I know that I'm… understand?”

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

Creating the aliens and their vessel

Once Stone’s character ultimately shows her true nature, we get a quick look of her spaceship and other extraterrestrials before Bugonia ends. Their ship has a distinct appearance, which the writer shares was meant to look like a sea creature while avoiding high-tech visuals.

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

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

The Andromedons’ clothing is equally fascinating as their ship: bulbous robes made from thick, woven cords. Once more, the goal was to go against sci-fi movie tradition.

“Regarding the attire, rather than being advanced, they [were meant to|aimed to] feel strangely somewhat tribal or primitive, and yet also highly decorative and sophisticated, because it's such an intricate and elegant creation on those strange knit costumes,” the writer says. He adds that the director “viewed it as being a very ancient civilization. He disliked the idea of anything being smooth and metallic, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The conclusion of the Earth (or just humanity)

Perhaps the most significant change between the new film and the original is that in the original Korean movie, the extraterrestrials respond 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 snuff out all mankind, while leaving the planet and its other inhabitants intact.

“What I wanted to do in the screenplay was a depiction of Earth after humanity,” Tracy says.

In the movie’s final moments, we see a series of shots of existence across the globe. All humans are deceased where they were standing just before, but the Earth continues. How viewers, are supposed to interpret all this is open to discussion. Does the conclusion of Bugonia hopeful or pessimistic? Is humanity fated to perish or deserving of rescue? Would the world be improved in our absence?

Tracy does not wish to offer a definitive answer in any direction.

“Certain viewers find it to be a very bleak ending, or a tragic ending, a hopeless ending,” he states. “Different audiences see it as being a strangely optimistic or positive ending. I think there are various interpretations to read it.”

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