Yorgos Lanthimos, director of the new Focus Features film **Bugonia**, reveals why he opted to work with familiar faces for this black comedy film.
**Bugonia** marks Lanthimos stepping fully into sci-fi territory, while still maintaining his signature blend of uncomfortable comedy. The 2025 film is an English-language take on the 2003 Korean cult movie *Save the Green Planet!* It follows Teddy, a conspiracy-minded beekeeper who becomes convinced that powerful pharma executive Michelle Fuller is an alien infiltrator. Teddy and his cousin Don kidnap Michelle, haul her to a hidden basement, and attempt to “interrogate” the truth out of her — all while the world above keeps turning. But the story is packed with plenty of twists and turns before coming to a screeching halt.
Emma Stone stars as Michelle Fuller, portraying a razor-sharp corporate figure accustomed to dominating any room, only to lose control once she is trapped. Jesse Plemons brings a tense, off-kilter energy to Teddy, a man whose fears about the planet’s condition spiral into obsession. Aidan Delbis plays cousin Don, adding a raw, unpolished honesty, while Alicia Silverstone and Stavros Halkias round out the ensemble in key supporting roles.
The movie premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival in August 2025 before its theatrical release in October. Critics have largely praised the central performances and the film’s peculiar mix of nastiness and melancholy.
**Bugonia** also marks another chapter in Lanthimos’ ongoing collaboration with Emma Stone and, more recently, Jesse Plemons following their work together on *Kinds of Kindness*. Speaking with Screen Rant, Lanthimos explained why he keeps returning to the same actors:
> “I think it’s as simple as finding someone you get along with and, of course, appreciate greatly as a talent. You trust them and build on the relationship afterward, so it allows you to not be afraid to go to places that you might not have gone if it were someone that you didn’t know so well or couldn’t rely on. They’re both incredible actors, and they have great chemistry. With Jesse, it was almost like making three films back-to-back when we made *Kinds of Kindness*. It was three different stories, and he had to play three different characters, so it felt like there was already a troupe created.”
**Bugonia** feels like the latest proof that this unofficial troupe can follow Lanthimos into stranger territory without losing its footing. If this is where their shared instincts have led so far, it’s exciting to wonder what even weirder, wilder story they will tackle next.
The Focus Features film *Bugonia* is now playing in theaters everywhere.
https://bleedingcool.com/movies/bugonia-director-reveals-why-he-enjoys-repeat-collaborators/