The Writer Explains the Many Surprising Twists of the New Science Fiction Film

The film writer Will Tracy barely recalls what transpires in Save the Green Planet!. This is somewhat unexpected, since he penned the screenplay for the director’s new adaptation of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Instead of analyzing the source material for ideas, the screenwriter behind The Menu watched the movie a single time, took a few notes, and started the process.

“I watched the original the one time,” Tracy says. “I couldn't clearly recall the movie all that well. I didn't want to feel like I had to be slavishly following or remaking or honoring someone else's vision. The most respectful approach to both films was to have them each stand on their own.”

While the premise of a mentally unstable man (the actor in the new version) who abducts a pharmaceutical executive he’s convinced is an alien in disguise is pretty much the identical in both films, the variations are significant. To start, the writer rewrote the lead role, played by a man in the director's first version, as a female character. (The director cast his regular partner the actress in the role.) The endings differ slightly too, in the way they tackle their shared core mystery: Is the character an extraterrestrial or not really?

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

“I never was really focused on the twist aspect,” he says. “I didn't want the film to just be a gadget that performs one surprise, and then after the reveal, it's like: Alright, so what's next?”

Nevertheless, Tracy has a lot to discuss on the topic. The interview with the screenwriter covered Bugonia’s ending and what it all means, along with the ways he and Lanthimos worked together to execute those surprises.

Warning: Complete details ahead for the conclusion of Bugonia.

So is the character an extraterrestrial or not an alien?

Short answer: Absolutely.

Just like in Save the Green Planet, the end of this version discloses that Stone’s character, a pharmaceutical executive named Michelle Fuller, is actually a royal extraterrestrial in hiding. Once she manipulates her kidnapper the unstable man (Plemons) into killing himself using her advanced device, Fuller transports to her Andromedon spaceship.

The reality that this comes as a surprise is a proof to her performance. Throughout the two-hour film, she maintains suspense through a layered performance that may require several rewatches 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 viewing it again. What the repeat viewers are going to think,” Tracy explains. "She knew the second time someone sees this film, They are aware I am conscious of… understand?”

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

Designing the aliens and their vessel

Once the CEO ultimately shows her real identity, we get a quick look of her ship and other extraterrestrials before the film concludes. Their vessel has a unique design, which the writer reveals was meant to look like a marine animal while avoiding futuristic aesthetics.

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

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

The Andromedons’ attire is just as interesting as their ship: bulbous dress-like garments made from thick, woven cords. Again, the goal was to go against sci-fi movie tradition.

“For the costumes, rather than being futuristic, they [were meant to|aimed to] feel strangely somewhat tribal or basic, and yet also quite ornate and not primitive, because it's such an intricate and elegant creation on those strange knit costumes,” the writer says. He notes that Lanthimos “viewed it as being a extremely old society. He wasn't into the idea of anything being sleek and silver, or some ultra-modern cosmic vision.”

The conclusion of the Earth (or only humankind)

Perhaps the most significant change between the new film and Save the Green Planet is that in the original Korean movie, the extraterrestrials react to their ruler's abduction and abuse by destroying planet Earth. This adaptation takes a somewhat more nuanced method, with its beings opting to snuff out all mankind, while keeping the planet and its remaining creatures intact.

“What I wanted to achieve in the script was a depiction of the planet post-human existence,” Tracy explains.

In the movie’s final moments, we see a series of shots of existence across the planet. All humans are deceased where they were located moments earlier, but the Earth keeps spinning. How viewers, are supposed to interpret all this is up for debate. Is the ending of Bugonia hopeful or pessimistic? Is humanity fated to perish or worth saving? Would the world be improved in our absence?

Tracy isn’t willing to offer a clear resolution either way.

“Some people find it to be a extremely dark conclusion, or a tragic ending, a hopeless outcome,” he says. “Different audiences see it as being a oddly optimistic or happy ending. In my opinion there are various interpretations to read it.”

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