The Screenwriter Details the Numerous Surprising Turns of the New Science Fiction Movie

Bugonia screenwriter Will Tracy doesn’t really remember what happens in Save the Green Planet!. It's a little surprising, since he wrote the screenplay for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new adaptation 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, took a few notes, and started the process.

“I’ve only seen the original once,” Tracy says. “I couldn't clearly recall the movie all that well. My aim wasn't 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 those movies was to have them be judged separately.”

While the basic plot of a emotionally troubled man (Jesse Plemons in Bugonia) who kidnaps a business leader he’s certain is an alien in disguise is pretty much the same in both films, the variations are notable. To start, Tracy rewrote the executive character, originally male in Jang Joon-hwan’s original, as a woman. (Lanthimos cast his regular partner the actress in the role.) The conclusions vary a bit as well, in the way they address their central question: Is the character an extraterrestrial or not really?

The screenwriter believes that resolution is a bit beside the point.

“I wasn't really focused on the twist aspect,” he comments. “I didn't want the film to just be a gadget that performs a single trick, and then once it does that surprise, it's like: OK, well, what else does this toy do?”

Nevertheless, he has plenty to say on the subject. Our discussion with the writer touched on the film’s ending and its implications, along with the methods he and the director worked together to bring those twists to life.

Warning: Complete details ahead for the conclusion of Bugonia.

So is the character an extraterrestrial or not an alien?

Short answer: Absolutely.

Similar to in the original film, the conclusion of Bugonia discloses that Stone’s character, a pharmaceutical executive named her character, is in fact a royal extraterrestrial in disguise. Once she manipulates her kidnapper the unstable man (Plemons) into killing himself using her advanced device, she beams back up to her Andromedon spaceship.

The reality that this comes as a surprise is a testament to Stone’s acting skills. During the 118-minute movie, she maintains suspense through a complex performance that may require several rewatches to comprehend entirely.

“She talked a lot about how it was the initial instance she had to give a performance 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 upon a repeat viewing a person watches this movie, They are aware I am conscious of… you know?”

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

Creating 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 ends. Their ship has a unique design, which the writer shares was intended to look like a sea creature while steering clear of high-tech visuals.

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

They should feel oddly kind of tribal or primitive.

The Andromedons’ attire is equally fascinating as their vessel: bulbous dress-like garments made from large, ropey threads. Once more, the goal was to go against conventional science fiction.

“Regarding the attire, rather than being futuristic, they [were meant to|aimed to] appear unusually somewhat primitive or primitive, and yet also quite ornate and sophisticated, because it's such an intricate and beautiful design on those unusual woven outfits,” Tracy states. He adds that Lanthimos “viewed it as being a extremely old society. He disliked the idea of anything being smooth and metallic, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The conclusion of the world (or just humankind)

Perhaps the most significant change between Bugonia and Save the Green Planet is that in the original Korean movie, the extraterrestrials respond to their ruler's abduction and abuse by blowing up planet Earth. This adaptation adopts a somewhat more nuanced method, with its beings choosing to eliminate all human life, while leaving the planet and its remaining creatures unharmed.

“What I wanted to do in the screenplay was a depiction of the planet after humanity,” the writer explains.

In the film's conclusion, we see a series of shots of existence across the planet. All humans are deceased 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 hopeful or bleak? Is humanity fated to perish or deserving of rescue? Is the planet be better off in our absence?

Tracy isn’t willing to provide a definitive answer either way.

“Some people find it to be a very bleak ending, or a tragic finale, a hopeless outcome,” he states. “Different audiences view it as being a strangely hopeful or positive conclusion. I think there are various interpretations to understand it.”

The film is in select cinemas at present, with a broader opening on Oct. 31.