Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos are on a roll. Following the success of their 2023 film Poor Things, the creative duo hit the Cannes Film Festival, screening their third feature together, the dark anthology Kinds of Kindness. But before critics could even close their notebooks after viewing the nearly three-hour film, the pair officially announced their next project together: Bugonia.
A remake of the 2003 South Korean sci-fi comedy Save the Green Planet, Bugonia follows two conspiracy-obsessed men who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company (possibly played by Stone), convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. It marks Stone and Lanthimos’s fourth feature together (including 2018’s The Favourite). Jesse Plemons is also reuniting with Stone and the Greek director, following his leading role in Kinds of Kindness.
Save the Green Planet was a critical hit when it came out, winning two Korean Film Awards and receiving praise on the international festival circuit. The remake will be written by Will Tracy, who also wrote 2022’s Anya Taylor-Joy-starring horror/comedy The Menu, which may hint at Bugonia’s style and tone.
Poor Things surpassed $100 million at the box office worldwide and won four Academy Awards (with eleven nominations), including Best Actress for Emma Stone (Holly Waddington's intricate Victorian-era costuming was also recognized with the Best Costumes award). The film launched a thousand think pieces over the uninhibited sex life of protagonist Bella Baxter, who begins the film as a newborn baby incarnated into the body of a fully grown woman. Kinds of Kindness sees Lanthimos returning to his absurdist comedy roots and has already sparked a lively discussion. At the film’s Cannes press conference, several questions were reportedly asked about Stone’s sex scenes while the rest of the ensemble cast (including The Whale’s Hong Chau, Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer, Willem Dafoe, Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley) sat silently.
“I find physicality very, very important. I very often start from that,” Lanthimos said at the presser. “I certainly don’t mistreat it. I think it’s just observing life.”
Stone echoed the sentiment, saying, “Because [Yorgos] is very physically oriented, he really loves dance, obviously. When we were doing Poor Things, the things that we would discuss at length were the way [my character] walked and moved, not what was happening underneath the surface.”
Last fall, Lanthimos showered praise on his leading lady, telling W, “There is absolutely nothing that Emma cannot do. She is fearless.”
Filming for Bugonia starts this July. Kinds of Kindness hits theaters June 21, 2024.
