Emma Stone Teams up with Yorgos Lanthimos on Alien Conspiracy Drama "Bugonia" at Focus Features

Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos is working once again with Oscar winner Emma Stone on his next project “Bugonia.”

The drama will also star Jesse Plemons who, along with Stone, appears in Lanthimos’ forthcoming “Kinds of Kindness.” That three-chapter feature just premiered on Friday at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

“Bugonia” is scripted by heat-seeking “Succession” and “The Menu” writer Will and follows two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. 

Focus Features has won domestic rights to distribute the project. Universal Pictures will roll out the film in global territories, save Korea where “Parasite” producer CJ ENM will release. The latter is financing the film with Fremantle. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent brokered the rights deal. 

“Bugonia” is based on the 2003 Korean film “Save the Green Planet.” It was developed for English adaptation by acclaimed directors Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen for their Square Peg production label. 

Aster and Knudson will produce the project with Lanthimos veterans Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe (Element Pictures), alongside Lanthimos, Stone Miky Lee, and Jerry Kyoungboum Ko (CJ ENM).\

Stone is represented by Anonymous Content, WME, The Lede Company and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett and Kole. Plemons is represented by TalentWorks and attorney David Matlof.

Lanthimos’ prolific body of work includes “Dogtooth,” the Oscar-nominated “The Lobster,” “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” “The Favourite,” and the triumphant “Poor Things” — which this year earned 11 Academy Award nominations and four wins, including Best Actress for Stone.