‘Bugonia’ director Yorgos Lanthimos to take a break: “I can’t keep doing that anymore”
Prolific director Yorgos Lanthimos has revealed that he plans to take some well-deserved time off after churning out three projects in as many years.
Lanthimos has been the director’s name on everyone’s lips as of late, after his 2023 hit, Poor Things, 2024’s Kinds of Kindness, and now, 2025’s Bugonia. His new movie is a remake of the 2003 South Korean sci-fi comedy Save the Green Planet. It follows two conspiracy-obsessed friends who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major corporation because they are convinced she’s an alien intent on destroying Earth. Like many of his projects, it stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons.
In a new interview with Collider, Lanthimos admitted that he is currently operating at an unsustainable pace. He shared, “Well, I can’t keep doing that anymore. That’s what I’m certain of right now. It’s a big mistake. I think I need a break. I’ve said that before in between the other three, but I’m serious now.”
The Dogtooth director insisted, “You can hold me to it. I’m going to take a little break […] you find the will and the strength, but at some point, it runs out. We’re at that point.”
The filmmaker is rumoured to have two more projects up his sleeve: one is an adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s provocative novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and the other an adaptation ofc Jean-Patrick Manchette’s short novel Fatale, about a female assassin.
The movie made headlines in April due to a logistical nightmare. It was revealed that Greek authorities refused to permit filming at the Acropolis. They initially requested that public access to the Acropolis be restricted for four days to allow time for filming and setting up.
Recently, the director was one of over 1200 Hollywood names who signed a pledge not to work with film institutions in Israel that are “implicated in genocide” against Palestinians. The pledge was published on September 8th by the organisation Film Workers for Palestine
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