'Bugonia' Trailer Drops — But Even Fans Are Unsure It’s Worth Watching

The trailer for Bugonia, the latest from Yorgos Lanthimos, has only just surfaced — but online audiences are already having second thoughts. "I beg her to work with anyone else," one Reddit user, waveymaevey345, pleads, referring to Emma Stone’s now-regular collaborations with the Greek auteur. "They’ve kind of become weird for weird’s sake," adds theagonyaunt, summarising the growing sentiment that Lanthimos’ surrealist style may be flirting with self-parody.

But let’s not bury the director just yet. If Reddit gives us skepticism, it also brings out loyalists.

"Yorgos and Emma are my dream team! Brilliant thinkers and artists at the height of their powers making mainstream films and television, I feel lucky to be alive right now," writes edwigenightcups.

"I love it when a director finds 'his people', and they become a recurring cast for future films. Wes Anderson has found his people, Paul Thomas Anderson also," recalls Dull_Half_6107.

Not everyone’s on board, sure — but Lanthimos has never been a consensus filmmaker. Isn’t that part of the point?

Bugonia marks his fourth consecutive feature with Stone (fifth if you count the short Bleat), this time pairing her with Jesse Plemons. The plot — adapted from the cult Korean film Save the Green Planet! — follows two conspiracy theorists who kidnap a powerful CEO, convinced she’s an alien bent on Earth's destruction. The tone? Judging by the trailer: absurd, unsettling, and unmistakably Lanthimos. Whether that’s enticing or exhausting depends, perhaps, on your tolerance for deadpan dialogue and existential dread in pastel lighting.

Set for an October 24 theatrical release and widely expected to premiere at Venice this September, Bugonia is already shaping up to be a divisive entry in the autumn cinema season. But let’s be honest: when did Yorgos Lanthimos ever aim to please everyone? Some will tune out. Others will call it art.