Michelle Yeoh Bragged To Jackie Chan About Everything Everywhere Success

Everything Everywhere All at Once actor Michelle Yeoh bragged about the movie's success to Jackie Chan, who was originally considered to star.

Michelle Yeoh Bragged To Jackie Chan About Everything Everywhere Success

Michelle Yeoh bragged to Jackie Chan about the success of Everything Everywhere All at Once. The movie from Daniels, the collective moniker of filmmakers Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, premiered at South by Southwest in March before hitting theaters, eventually getting a national release from distributors A24 on April 8. Everything Everywhere All at Once reviews have been near-universally positive, with many critics and casual viewers alike naming it an early contender for the best movie of 2022.

Starring Yeoh in the lead role, the film sees Evelyn Wang, a laundromat owner generally dissatisfied with her life, learn from an alternate version of her husband that she is the key to saving a multiverse in crisis. In the earliest version of the Daniels’ script, however, the husband was the protagonist, with the directors eying Chan as their potential star. Him proving unavailable helped them realize Everything Everywhere All at Once would be better served with Evelyn at the center, and they wrote the movie for Yeoh, with the role of Waymond Wang eventually going to Ke Huy Quan.

Now, in an interview with The Guardian, Yeoh reveals that she got the chance to brag about the success of her latest film to the person it was once intended for. She and Chan are old friends, having starred together in Hong Kong movies like Police Story 3: Supercop, and she says the martial arts legend texted her after hearing about the positive press for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Asked if she knew the Daniels came to meet with him about it, she informs Chan that missing out on the role was definitely his loss. Check out her quote below:

Jackie actually texted me. And he says: ‘Wow, I hear amazing things about your movie. Did you know that the boys came to see me in China?’ And I said: ‘Yes, your loss, my bro!’

Chan’s loss was clearly Yeoh’s gain, as playing the part of Evelyn is being hailed as a career performance from the beloved but underutilized actor. Indeed, all the main Everything Everywhere All at Once cast have received praise, especially Quan, who returned to acting after having been a child star in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies. Perhaps in a remnant of the original concept, Quan gets a Chan-inspired fanny pack fight scene, featuring the same creative and humorous choreography that the Hong Kong star is famous for.

While it’s interesting to imagine what it would’ve been like with Chan at the center, fans are surely happy they got the version of Everything Everywhere All at Once that they did. The movie has become a rare word-of-mouth hit in a box office era dominated by blockbusters, and industry professionals have expressed their love for it as well, with Andrew Garfield wearing hot dog hands to promote the movie despite not being at all involved. Perhaps, when it comes time for the Daniels to choose their next project, they’ll get to make their movie with Chan after all.