The marketing for Emma Stone’s next potential Oscar role has gotten creative with some interactive advertising in the real world. Directed by Stone’s Poor Things collaborator Yorgos Lanthimos, Bugonia also stars Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis, and is a remake of 2003’s South Korean film Save the Green Planet!
The 2025 feature follows a pharmaceuticals CEO (Stone) who is kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists (Plemons and Delbis) who believe she is an alien complicit in destroying the planet. Bugonia‘s debut Rotten Tomatoes score reflects its strong early reviews, positioning its actors as possible nominees for the 2026 Oscars. Bugonia hits theaters on October 31.
Ahead of the movie’s wide release, Focus Features has launched a new website, supposedly created by “marco1487,” surrounding the “human resistance” against an extra-terrestrial invasion. humanresistancehq.com includes a page on Stone’s character Michelle Fuller as a suspected Andromedan, research on the Andromedan aliens, and a list of linked articles on alleged UFO sightings.
Fuller’s page also includes a link to a LinkedIn for the fictional Auxolith pharmaceutical company. Meanwhile, billboards with images of Fuller/Stone for Auxolith have appeared in New York and Los Angeles. Some of these billboards also feature graffiti reading “Andromedan Filth” and “Join the Human Resistance.“
Finally, the website also provides information on attending “suspected mothership viewings” in the near future, taking visitors to a survey for a chance to catch an early screening of Bugonia on October 20 at one of five locations. Suffice it to say, the Bugonia team is fully embracing the conspiracy-driven nature of the plot and elements of absurdism.
Lanthimos, as a director, is known for some bizarrely creative sci-fi-fantasy concepts. He saw the most success yet with 2023’s Poor Things, starring Stone as a young woman whose body is given the brain of an infant. Lanthimos also directed The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer and previously reunited with Stone post-Poor Things for Kinds of Kindness.
Stone seems content to keep working with this director after Poor Things allowed her to win a second Oscar. However, the compeтιтion is possibly fiercer this year, making it more difficult for Bugonia to secure a Best Picture nomination, even if Stone is solid as a nominee for Best Actress. But marketing that really hooks viewers and builds its momentum may give it a better chance.
