The Screenwriter Discusses the Countless Wild Twists of the Latest Science Fiction Movie

Bugonia writer Will Tracy barely recalls what happens in the original Korean movie. That’s a bit of a surprise, given that he wrote the screenplay for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new adaptation of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Rather than poring over the original script for ideas, the screenwriter behind The Menu watched the film once, jotted down some thoughts, and got to work.

“I watched the original once,” Tracy says. “My memory was foggy on the film all that well. My aim wasn't to feel like I had to be slavishly following or recreating or paying tribute to another filmmaker's work. The fairest thing to those movies was to have them exist independently.”

While the premise of a mentally unstable man (the actor in the new version) who kidnaps a pharmaceutical executive he’s certain is an extraterrestrial hiding on Earth is pretty much the same in each movie, the differences are notable. Firstly, the writer rewrote the lead role, originally male in the director's original, as a female character. (Lanthimos chose his regular partner Emma Stone in the role.) The endings vary a bit too, in the way they address their central question: Is the character an alien in disguise or not?

The screenwriter believes that resolution is somewhat beside the point.

“I wasn't really concerned with the twist aspect,” he comments. “My intention wasn't for the film 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 say on the subject. The interview with the writer touched on the film’s ending and what it all means, along with the ways he and Lanthimos collaborated to bring those twists to life.

Spoiler Alert: Complete details ahead for the ending of Bugonia.

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

Short answer: Yes.

Similar to in the original film, the end of Bugonia discloses that Stone’s character, a big pharma CEO named her character, is actually alien royalty in hiding. Once she manipulates her captor the unstable man (Plemons) into ending his own life using her advanced device, she transports to her Andromedon spaceship.

The fact that this is unexpected is a proof to her performance. During the two-hour movie, she maintains suspense through a layered performance that may require multiple viewings to comprehend entirely.

“Emma talked a lot about how it was the first time she had to act where she felt she had to be aware of people viewing it again. What the repeat viewers are going to think,” the writer says. "She was aware the second time a person watches this film, They know that I know that I'm… you know?”

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

Creating the aliens and their vessel

After the CEO finally does reveal her real identity, we get a brief glimpse of her spaceship and fellow aliens before Bugonia concludes. Their ship has a unique design, which the writer shares was meant to look like a marine animal while avoiding high-tech visuals.

“[Yorgos] was really fascinated by almost like a jellyfish-type design for the spaceship, something very natural,” he says.

They should feel oddly somewhat primitive or primitive.

The Andromedons’ attire is just as interesting as their vessel: bulbous robes made from thick, woven cords. Again, the aim was to defy conventional science fiction.

“For the costumes, instead of being advanced, they [were meant to|aimed to] appear unusually somewhat tribal or basic, and yet also quite ornate and not primitive, because it's a very detailed and beautiful design on those strange knit costumes,” the writer states. He notes that the director “viewed it as being a very ancient civilization. He wasn't into the idea of anything being sleek and silver, or some ultra-modern cosmic vision.”

The conclusion of the world (or just humankind)

Perhaps the most significant change between the new film and the original is that in the first version, the aliens react to their ruler's abduction and abuse by destroying the world. This adaptation takes a slightly subtler approach, with its aliens opting to snuff out all mankind, while leaving the Earth and its other inhabitants intact.

“My intention to achieve in the script was a vision of the planet after humanity,” the writer 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 moments earlier, but the world keeps spinning. What we, as an audience, are supposed to interpret all this is up for debate. Does the conclusion of Bugonia optimistic or pessimistic? Are people fated to perish or worth saving? Would the world be better off in our absence?

Tracy isn’t willing to offer a definitive answer in any direction.

“Certain viewers see it as a extremely dark conclusion, or a tragic ending, a despairing ending,” he states. “Other people view it as being a oddly optimistic or positive ending. In my opinion there are various interpretations to understand it.”

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