The Screenwriter Explains the Many Wild Twists of Emma Stone's Latest Science Fiction Movie

Bugonia writer Will Tracy has a hazy memory of what transpires in the original Korean movie. It's a little surprising, considering he crafted the script for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new reimagining of the original 2003 film. Rather than analyzing the original script for inspiration, the writer behind The Menu watched the film a single time, took a few notes, and got to work.

“I’ve only seen the original once,” the screenwriter states. “My memory was foggy on the movie in great detail. I didn't want to feel as though I had to be slavishly following or recreating or paying tribute to another filmmaker's work. The fairest thing to both films was to have them each stand on their own.”

While the basic plot of a emotionally troubled man (the actor in the new version) who abducts a business leader he’s certain is an extraterrestrial hiding on Earth is largely the same in both films, the differences are notable. For one thing, the writer rewrote the executive character, originally male in Jang Joon-hwan’s original, as a female character. (The director cast his regular partner the actress in the role.) The conclusions vary a bit 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 a bit beside the point.

“I wasn't really focused on the surprise element,” he comments. “My intention wasn't for the movie to just be a toy that performs one surprise, and then once it does that surprise, it's like: Alright, so what's next?”

Nevertheless, Tracy has plenty to say on the subject. The interview with the screenwriter covered the film’s finale and what it all means, along with the ways he and the director worked together to bring those twists to life.

Warning: Complete details follow for the conclusion of Bugonia.

Therefore, is the character an extraterrestrial or not?

In brief: Yes.

Similar to in the original film, the conclusion of Bugonia discloses that the CEO, a big pharma CEO named Michelle Fuller, is actually a royal extraterrestrial in hiding. Once she manipulates her captor the unstable man (the actor) into killing himself using her advanced device, she beams back up to her Andromedon spaceship.

The reality that this is unexpected is a testament to her performance. During the 118-minute movie, she keeps audiences guessing through a complex portrayal that may require several rewatches to comprehend entirely.

“Emma frequently discussed how it was the first time she had to give a performance where she felt she had to be conscious of people viewing it again. What the repeat viewers are going to perceive,” Tracy says. "She knew the upon a repeat viewing someone sees this movie, They are aware I am conscious of… you know?”

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

Designing the aliens and their vessel

After Stone’s character finally does reveal her real identity, we get a quick look of her spaceship and other extraterrestrials before the film concludes. Their ship has a unique design, which the writer shares was meant to look like a marine animal while avoiding high-tech visuals.

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

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

The Andromedons’ clothing is just as interesting as their vessel: bulbous robes made from thick, woven cords. Again, the goal was to defy sci-fi movie tradition.

“For the costumes, rather than being futuristic, they [were meant to|aimed to] feel strangely kind of tribal or primitive, and yet also quite ornate and sophisticated, because it's a very detailed and elegant creation on those unusual woven outfits,” the writer states. He notes that the director “viewed it as being a extremely old society. He wasn't into the notion of any element being sleek and silver, or some ultra-modern cosmic vision.”

The conclusion of the world (or only humankind)

Maybe the most significant change between the new film and the original is that in the first version, the extraterrestrials react to their leader's kidnapping and abuse by destroying the world. Bugonia adopts a slightly subtler approach, with its beings opting to eliminate all human life, while keeping the planet and its other inhabitants unharmed.

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

In the movie’s final moments, we see a sequence of scenes of existence across the globe. All humans lie dead where they were standing just before, but the Earth continues. What we, as an audience, are supposed to interpret these events is up for debate. Does the conclusion of the film optimistic or bleak? Is humanity fated to perish or worth saving? Is the planet be better off in our absence?

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

“Certain viewers see it as a extremely dark conclusion, or a tragic finale, a despairing outcome,” he states. “Different audiences see it as being a oddly optimistic or positive conclusion. In my opinion there are various interpretations to read it.”

Bugonia is currently in limited theatrical release now, with a broader opening on Halloween.