The Screenwriter Discusses the Numerous Unexpected Twists of Emma Stone's New Sci-Fi Movie

The film screenwriter Will Tracy has a hazy memory of what transpires in Save the Green Planet!. That’s a bit of a surprise, given that he crafted the script for Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest reimagining of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Rather than studying the original script for inspiration, the screenwriter behind his previous work viewed the movie once, jotted down some thoughts, and began writing.

“I’ve only seen the original once,” the screenwriter says. “I didn’t really remember the movie all that well. My aim wasn't to feel like 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 exist independently.”

While the premise of a mentally unstable man (Jesse Plemons in Bugonia) who abducts a business leader he’s convinced is an extraterrestrial hiding on Earth is pretty much the same in each movie, the differences are notable. Firstly, Tracy rewrote the executive character, originally male in the director's original, as a woman. (The director chose his frequent collaborator Emma Stone in the part.) The endings differ slightly too, in the way they tackle their central question: Is this person an extraterrestrial or not?

Tracy believes that answer is a bit irrelevant.

“I wasn't really focused on the twist aspect,” he comments. “My intention wasn't for the movie to just be a toy that does one surprise, and then after the reveal, it's like: OK, well, what else does this toy do?”

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

Warning: Full spoilers follow for the conclusion of Bugonia.

Therefore, is the character an extraterrestrial or not?

In brief: Absolutely.

Just like in the original film, the end of this version discloses that Stone’s character, a big pharma CEO named Michelle Fuller, is in fact a royal extraterrestrial in hiding. After tricking her kidnapper Teddy (Plemons) 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 Stone’s acting skills. During the 118-minute movie, she keeps audiences guessing through a layered performance that may require multiple viewings to fully understand.

“Emma frequently discussed how it was the initial instance she had to act where she felt she had to be conscious of people watching the movie a second time. What the repeat viewers are going to perceive,” Tracy says. "She was aware the second time a person watches this film, They know that I know that I'm… understand?”

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

Creating the aliens and their spaceship

Once the CEO ultimately shows her real identity, we get a quick look of her spaceship and fellow aliens before the film ends. Their vessel has a unique design, which Tracy reveals 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-inspired shape for the vessel, something very natural,” Tracy says.

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

The Andromedons’ clothing is just as interesting as their ship: bulbous robes made from large, ropey threads. Again, the aim was to go against conventional science fiction.

“Regarding the attire, rather than being advanced, 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 beautiful design on those strange knit costumes,” Tracy states. He adds that the director “viewed it as being a extremely old society. He disliked the notion of anything being smooth and metallic, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The conclusion of the Earth (or only humanity)

Perhaps the biggest difference between Bugonia and Save the Green Planet is that in the original Korean movie, the extraterrestrials respond to their ruler's abduction and mistreatment by destroying the world. This adaptation adopts a somewhat more nuanced approach, with its beings opting to eliminate all human life, while keeping the planet and its remaining creatures intact.

“My intention to achieve in the screenplay was a vision of the planet post-human existence,” Tracy says.

In the film's conclusion, we see a series of shots of life across the globe. All humans are deceased where they were standing moments earlier, but the Earth keeps spinning. How viewers, are supposed to interpret all this is up for debate. Is the ending of the film hopeful or bleak? Are people doomed or worth saving? Is the planet be improved without us?

The screenwriter does not wish to provide a clear resolution in any direction.

“Some people see it as a very bleak conclusion, or a tragic finale, a hopeless ending,” he says. “Different audiences see it as being a strangely optimistic or positive conclusion. In my opinion there's different ways to read it.”

Bugonia is currently in select cinemas now, with a broader opening on Halloween.