At the 2025 Venice Film Festival, Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone made headlines for reasons that stretched far beyond her latest on-screen transformation. While promoting her new sci-fi dark comedy Bugonia on August 28, Stone took the opportunity to share her personal beliefs about one of humanity’s most enduring questions: are we alone in the universe? Her answer was as bold as it was unexpected. “Yes, I’m coming out with it. I believe in aliens,” she declared to a room full of journalists and fans, instantly sparking a flurry of online debate and fascination, according to Far Out Magazine and Boom.
Stone’s statement didn’t come out of nowhere. As she explained during the press conference, her views on extraterrestrial life have been shaped by the late astronomer and philosopher Carl Sagan, whose work she credits for expanding her cosmic perspective. “One of my favorite people who has ever lived is Carl Sagan and I fell madly in love with his philosophy, science and how brilliant he is,” Stone told the assembled press, as reported by BollywoodShaadis. She elaborated, “He very deeply believed the idea that we’re alone in this vast expansive universe, not that we’re being watched, is a pretty narcissistic thing.”
Stone’s admiration for Sagan runs deep. She shared, “I watched his show, Cosmos, and fell madly in love with his philosophy and his science and how brilliant he seems to be.” Sagan, a passionate advocate for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), famously estimated that the Milky Way alone could contain millions of advanced civilizations. Stone echoed this sentiment, saying, “The idea that we are alone in this vast expanse of the universe—truly not that we’re being watched but that we’re alone out here—is a pretty narcissistic thing to think.”
Her public embrace of this belief comes as she steps into the role of a powerful CEO in Bugonia, a film directed by her frequent collaborator Yorgos Lanthimos. The movie, which premiered in competition at Venice on August 28, follows two conspiracy-obsessed friends who kidnap Stone’s character, convinced she is an alien plotting to destroy Earth. The plot, both absurd and darkly comedic, seems tailor-made for Stone’s unique blend of wit and sincerity. As she promoted the film, Stone even joked with reporters, “How do you know I’m not an alien?”—a line that, according to E! News, drew laughter and underscored her playful approach to both the film’s themes and her own beliefs.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos, who wore a Palestine pin badge at the press conference, was also asked about the possibility of extraterrestrial life but chose to keep his answer ambiguous. “That’s a very complicated question to answer in a serious way,” he remarked, as reported by Far Out Magazine. Still, it’s clear that the director’s penchant for exploring the surreal and the philosophical has resonated with Stone. She explained, “I love the material that he’s drawn to and the worlds he wants to explore, and the characters that he’s been generous enough to let me try my hand at.”
Bugonia is Stone’s fourth collaboration with Lanthimos, following acclaimed projects like The Favourite, Kinds of Kindness, and Poor Things. Their partnership has yielded both critical and commercial success. Notably, Poor Things won the coveted Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival two years ago and later swept four Oscars, including Best Actress for Stone—a testament to the creative synergy between the actress and director.
The anticipation for Bugonia has only grown since the release of its first trailer on August 28, which showcased Stone’s striking bald look as her character’s alien persona. The film, which also stars Jesse Plemons, Alicia Silverstone, and Stavros Halkias, is an adaptation of the 2003 South Korean cult classic Save the Green Planet!. It’s set for a worldwide release on October 31, 2025, with some outlets reporting a U.S. cinema debut on November 7, 2025.
Stone’s willingness to publicly discuss her belief in aliens is rare among Hollywood’s A-list, where personal philosophies often take a back seat to career promotion. Yet, her openness seems to be in keeping with the broader themes of Bugonia, which satirizes conspiracy culture and the human tendency to search for meaning in the unknown. When a reporter at the festival asked how she manages living in the spotlight “without turning into an alien,” Stone responded with characteristic humor and insight. “How do you know I’m not an alien?” she quipped, before reflecting more seriously: “I think there’s a tricky aspect to that answer that’s probably longer than anything that anyone would want to listen to right now. I think everyone sort of deals with that now. We all can relate to that feeling of someone thinking they know you, feeling like you don’t have much control of the avatar outside of me. Because there’s me, and then there’s me, here. There’s the person who comes here and then there’s the person who I am with my friends and family. They’re the same person, but it’s what I do to keep myself sane.”
The press conference also saw Stone, now 36, reflect on the intersection of celebrity, public perception, and personal identity. Her comments resonated with many in the room, highlighting the often-blurry line between public persona and private self—an experience that, in her view, isn’t so different from the alienation felt by her character in Bugonia. “Everyone sort of deals with that now,” she observed, suggesting that the feeling of being misunderstood or misrepresented is nearly universal in the age of social media and constant scrutiny.
Stone’s candidness about her beliefs and her creative process has only heightened anticipation for Bugonia. As the film’s release approaches, both fans and skeptics alike are eager to see how Stone’s personal fascination with the cosmos translates into her performance on screen. The movie promises to blend absurdist humor, social commentary, and a dash of existential wonder—a combination that seems perfectly suited to both Stone’s talents and Lanthimos’s signature style.
Whether or not extraterrestrial life exists, Emma Stone’s willingness to “come out” as a believer has added a new layer of intrigue to her public persona. As she continues to challenge expectations—both in her roles and in her real-life revelations—audiences can’t help but wonder what other cosmic surprises she might have in store. For now, at least, one thing is clear: Emma Stone is unafraid to look up at the stars and ask, “What if we’re not alone?”
