One of the Best Sci-Fi Movies of 2025 Secretly Pulled Off a Major Accomplishment Without You Knowing

Bugonia was one of the best sci-fi movies of 2025, and while it has garnered praise for all sorts of reasons, many viewers don’t realize that it pulled off another major accomplishment. The film follows two conspiracy theorist cousins who believe that the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company is secretly an alien. So, they kidnap the CEO and attempt to uncover her alien secrets, while outside of their house, a major manhunt mobilizes to track them down.

Bugonia is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and stars Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone, and Aidan Delbis. Upon its release, the film received massive praise, with many critics considering it to be one of the best films of 2025. At the Academy Awards, Bugonia was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Original Score, and Best Adapted Screenplay. However, some fans of the film were a bit confused as to why the screenplay was considered adapted instead of original.

Bugonia Is A Remake Of A 2003 South Korean Film (& It’s Better Than The Original)

Although it wasn’t heavily advertised, 2025’s Bugonia is actually a remake of a South Korean film from 2003. Save the Green Planet! was released on April 4, 2003, and it tells a similar story to Bugonia, with it following a man who kidnaps a pharmaceutical CEO due to his belief that he is an alien. The black comedy is directed by Jang Joon-hwan, who previously directed films like 2017’s 1987: When the Day Comes and 2013’s Hwayi: A Monster Boy.

Development of an American remake of Save the Green Planet! began in 2020, with Succession and The Menu writer Will Tracy penning the script. Tracy attempted to make the American version stand alone from the source material, with him making changes such as swapping the CEO character to be a woman. After a few years of development, director Yorgos Lanthimos joined the project, with frequent collaborators Stone and Plemons joining the film soon after.

Save the Green Planet! is a great film, and fans of Bugonia should definitely check out the original. However, Bugonia is definitely an improvement on the source material. While the first film is a ton of fun, Bugonia‘s richer characters and deeper thematic exploration give audiences a lot more to pick apart when dissecting the movie. Lanthimos’ unique style makes Bugonia a more unique viewing experience, with its mix of a horrific and comedic tone making it stand out from other popular sci-fi movies.

While Bugonia wasn’t a success at the Oscars, it is still one of the best movies of 2025 and one of the best films in Lanthimos’ filmography. Bugonia is more accessible to general audiences than films like Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness, and its strong hook makes it immediately appealing to new viewers. Bugonia is still fresh, but I truly believe that it’ll be considered to be a sci-fi classic in the years to come.

Save the Green Planet!’s Original Director Was Supposed To Direct Bugonia

While Bugonia is defined by Yorgos Lanthimos’ style, the Poor Things director wasn’t originally attached to the film. The four years between the script being written and Lanthimos signing on featured some development difficulties, mostly having to do with a change in directors. This is because, interestingly, Save the Green Planet!‘s Jang Joon-hwan was originally supposed to direct Bugonia.

Jang was attached to direct the remake of his 2003 film back in 2020, when the script was being written. Ari Aster was producing Bugonia, and Jang was working with Tracy on his screenplay, which was a departure from the original film. However, Jang had to step down from Bugonia, as he was dealing with health problems that prevented him from directing the remake. One of the last choices he made as director was to swap the CEO character from a man to a woman, a choice he made alongside Tracy and Aster.

This wasn’t the end of Jang’s involvement with the film. He stayed involved as an executive producer, with him approving of Lanthimos’ hiring as his replacement. In the end, Jang was a fan of Bugonia. Although he recognized that there were some major differences between the remake and his original vision, he called Bugonia “a magnificent variant” of his 2003 film (via allkpop). Considering that Bugonia satisfied the original director, it is hard to argue that the film isn’t a fantastic sci-fi movie.

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