Nowadays, if a movie is successful, it needs to have a sequel…or at least studio executives think so, even if the sequels usually don’t hit as hard as the originals. This is absolutely something that would happen if the Oscar-winning sci-fi indie film Everything Everywhere All At Once had a sequel, and star Michelle Yeoh is against it. “There’s no sequel,” she told Variety at the Cannes Film Festival. “We would just be doing the same thing.”
If you ask me, Yeoh is completely correct. There’s no further plot point to explore that hasn’t been explored yet, and nothing that would be added would contribute to the story or make sense. EEAAO is a confusing movie to begin with, and making a sequel would hurt the franchise, turning what was a blazingly original breath of fresh air into yet another sci-fi franchise.
It’s refreshing that Yeoh understands that. She’s all ready to dive into new endeavors, casually sharing with the crowd at the Kering Women in Motion talks that she’s finally getting offered a large variety of roles, something she’s been working towards for years:
"The best thing that has happened is I receive a script that doesn’t describe the character as a Chinese or Asian-looking person (…) We are actors. We are supposed to act. We are supposed to step into roles that are given to us and do our job as best we can. That, for me, is the biggest step forward."
Michelle Yeoh doesn’t want a sequel to Everything Everywhere All At Once: “We would just be doing the same thing.”
As a fellow foreign woman who has had to deal with similar things in both my personal and professional life, I salute Michelle Yeoh. She’s a role model for women who want to make something of themselves in a nation that puts many obstacles in their way.
“When there’s so few roles in the past it’s so competitive,” Yeoh continued. “If you get the job, I don’t get the job. But now we have to change the mindset. If I’m successful, you can be successful.”
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