Michelle Yeoh Is Confident Everything Everywhere All At Once Doesn't Need A Sequel
"Everything Everywhere All At Once" was an absolutely huge hit, and perhaps one of the most unexpected success stories of the past year. More often than not in modern Hollywood, that means a sequel as it is a rare treat where well enough is left alone. But in this case, it seems that A24 is content to take the win and move on. This is according to Michelle Yeoh, who won Best Actress at the Oscars for her role in the film, which also won Best Picture.
Yeoh spoke with Variety about the film's success and, naturally, the question of a sequel came up. It's a fair question, given the critical and commercial success. That said, Yeoh makes it clear that there is no sequel in the works and, further, there is absolutely no reason to make a sequel. Here's what she had to say about it:
"There's no sequel. You know, it's one of those movies where it's — we would just be doing the same thing. We already fought the biggest enemy, which is sometimes ourselves, within ourselves. And we brought out the message of how we're going to do it, and reminded every one of you is a superhero, because we all inherently have the superpower of love, compassion, and kindness. We don't need a cape to be a superhero. We can do it every day, anytime we choose to. So, no [sequel]."
That is very well said. Granted, Yeoh isn't the only one who would have anything to say about the prospect of a follow-up. At the very least, if A24 and/or directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert wanted to do anything, they would almost certainly have to do so without Yeoh.
Not everything needs a sequel
Not to state the obvious, but not everything needs a sequel. It's understandable in an age when it is so hard to get people's attention — in light of there being so many options for viewers to choose from — that capitalizing on something that is already successful seems attractive. And, in some cases, it makes sense. "The Empire Strikes Back" is widely considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time, after all. In this case though? Yeoh is right and it's perfectly okay to let a great movie be great on its own terms.
"Everything Everywhere All At Once" ranks as A24's biggest movie ever, taking in more than $140 million at the global box office against a $25 million budget. It even made more money than "Morbius," a big Marvel Comics adaptation. Perhaps most remarkable of all, it managed to get the masses out to see a high-concept, original movie at a time when such films are struggling mightily in theaters. The fact that it also went on to essentially sweep awards season? It's only going to encourage further investment in filmmakers like the Daniels and original ideas.
Hopefully, that's the takeaway here from the business at large. This big hit happened because the Daniels had a great idea, and were allowed to execute that idea the right way. A24 didn't over-invest in the idea, but they certainly gave the filmmakers the resources they needed to get the job done. More than likely, we'll just get some "Everything Everywhere All At Once" imitators in the coming years, but that's probably better than a sequel we don't need.