Nothing enhances a thriller like a good conspiracy. There are countless movies and miniseries where people, convinced that the powers that be are working against them, will stop at nothing to survive and reveal a forbidden truth.
Sometimes, though, the conspiracy is so ridiculous that the movie isn’t about how the hero will dismantle it, but whether their theory is even correct in the first place. That’s the case with Yorgos Lanthimos’ upcoming sci-fi thriller, Bugonia, as seen in its latest trailer:
While previous trailers hinted at the dilemma, this one makes it clear that the story boils down to whether high-powered CEO Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) is an alien hell-bent on taking over the world, like her kidnappers, Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aiden Delbis), think she is. “I am a high-profile female corporate executive,” she says over and over again. But things get murkier as the trailer goes on. “Lies, truth, what’s the difference?” Michelle says. We even hear her saying that she is, in fact, an alien. Is she just trying to appease her captors, or is there something bigger going on here? Fans already have theories.
Possible spoilers for Bugonia ahead.
Some think Michelle really is an alien, and that Teddy and Don’s wild conspiracy theory is actually correct. The evidence is circumstantial, but significant. First of all, what would be the most interesting ending to a story like this? For the conspiracy theory to really be true, and for Teddy and Don to be vindicated.
Teddy (Jesse Plemons) may be on to something in Bugonia.
More substantially, there’s a precedent for this twist: Bugonia is based on the Korean movie Save the Green Planet!, which reveals that the aliens were real all along; in the end, they come back to fetch their leader and destroy the Earth. Bugonia has a more serious tone, and Yorgos Lanthimos might want to put his own spin on the story, so it’s possible that the ending could change. But knowing Lanthimos’ love of an ironic twist, these weirdo kidnappers just might end up being right after all. We’ll find out for sure in a few weeks.
