The Writer Discusses the Numerous Unexpected Turns of the Latest Sci-Fi Movie

The film writer Will Tracy has a hazy memory of what transpires in Save the Green Planet!. It's a little surprising, considering he penned the screenplay for the director’s latest reimagining of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Rather than studying the source material for inspiration, the writer behind his previous work watched the film once, took a few notes, and got to work.

“I’ve only seen the original the one time,” Tracy says. “I didn’t really remember the movie all that well. My aim wasn't to feel as though I had to be slavishly following or remaking or honoring someone else's vision. The fairest thing to both films was to have them each stand on their own.”

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 largely the same in each movie, the variations are significant. For one thing, the writer re-envisioned the executive character, played by a man in the director's original, as a female character. (Lanthimos chose his regular partner Emma Stone in the role.) The conclusions vary a bit too, in the way they address their central question: Is the character an extraterrestrial or not really?

Tracy feels that answer is a bit not the main focus.

“I never was really concerned with the twist aspect,” he comments. “My intention wasn't for the film to just be a toy that does a single trick, and then after the reveal, it's like: OK, well, what else does this toy do?”

Nevertheless, Tracy has a lot to say on the subject. The interview with the writer touched on Bugonia’s finale and what it all means, along with the ways he and Lanthimos collaborated to execute those surprises.

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

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

In brief: Absolutely.

Similar to in Save the Green Planet, the conclusion of Bugonia discloses that Stone’s character, a big pharma CEO named Michelle Fuller, is actually a royal extraterrestrial in hiding. After tricking her kidnapper the unstable man (Plemons) into killing himself using her teleportation technology, she transports to her alien vessel.

The fact that this is unexpected is a proof to Stone’s acting skills. Throughout the 118-minute film, she maintains suspense through a complex portrayal that may require multiple viewings 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 conscious of people watching the movie a second time. What the repeat viewers are going to perceive,” the writer says. "She was aware the second time a person watches this film, They are aware I am conscious of… you know?”

Tracy trails off, before adding, “Thus, her performance needed to reflect of that in her acting.”

Creating the aliens and their spaceship

Once Stone’s character finally does reveal her real identity, we get a brief glimpse of her ship and other extraterrestrials before the film ends. Their vessel has a unique design, which Tracy shares was meant to look like a marine animal while avoiding futuristic aesthetics.

“[Yorgos] was really fascinated by almost like a jellyfish-inspired shape for the vessel, something very natural,” Tracy says.

They should feel oddly kind of tribal or primitive.

The Andromedons’ clothing is equally fascinating as their ship: bulbous dress-like garments made from thick, woven cords. Again, the aim was to defy conventional science fiction.

“For the costumes, rather than being advanced, they [were meant to|aimed to] feel unusually somewhat primitive or primitive, and yet also quite ornate and not primitive, because it's a very detailed and beautiful design on those unusual woven outfits,” the writer says. He adds that Lanthimos “viewed it as being a extremely old society. He wasn't into the notion of any element being smooth and metallic, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The end of the Earth (or only humankind)

Perhaps the most significant change between Bugonia and Save the Green Planet is that in the first version, the extraterrestrials react to their leader's kidnapping and abuse by blowing up the world. This adaptation adopts a slightly subtler approach, with its aliens choosing to eliminate all human life, while leaving the planet and its remaining creatures unharmed.

“My intention to do in the screenplay was a vision of the planet after humanity,” the writer says.

In the film's conclusion, we see a series of shots of existence across the planet. Every person lie dead where they were located just before, but the Earth continues. How viewers, are meant to interpret all this is open to discussion. Does the conclusion of the film optimistic or pessimistic? Is humanity fated to perish or worth saving? Is the planet be improved without us?

Tracy does not wish to offer a clear resolution either way.

“Certain viewers see it as a extremely dark conclusion, or a sad ending, a hopeless ending,” he states. “Other people view it as being a strangely hopeful or positive conclusion. In my opinion there are various interpretations to understand it.”

The film is currently in limited theatrical release at present, with a wide release on Oct. 31.