Everything everywhere at once: Which martial arts star did Michelle Yeoh replace?

Danes

Les Daniels is the pseudonym under which Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who have written and directed music videos together for more than a decade (including DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s Turn Down for What, in which Daniel Kwan shows off his dance skills), TV series episodes, shorts and feature films. Their previous and first film, The Cheeky Swiss Army Man, featured Paul Dano stranded on a desert island befriending Daniel Radcliffe’s corpse.

From Jackie Chan to Michelle Yeoh

Initially, the directors wanted to have Jackie Chan as the headliner, but the collaboration did not work out. When redefining their project, the Danes came up with the idea of ​​choosing an actor who gave him the line several times: Michelle Yoo.

A choice that acted as a click, respectively Daniel Scheinert “I really felt the script came to life when Michelle was cast as the lead mother. It was borderline scary because we couldn’t imagine anyone else in his place if he refused. Luckily, Michelle Yeoh wasn’t a terrible person, because otherwise it wouldn’t be a movie!”

Return of the Goonies

The role of Waymond, Evelyn’s husband, marks a return Ke Hui Quan, who played Demi-Looney as a child in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies. Despite starring in these two iconic 80s productions, the actor was unable to find a role for a young Asian actor. He even went to film school at USC and mostly stayed behind the camera. In 2046, he collaborated with Wong Kar-wai as an assistant director and choreographer, but he eventually left Hollywood for decades.

This was after watching Crazy Rich Asians (along with his future on-screen partner, Michelle Yoo) that he considered his return to the industry, telling himself that things had changed in Hollywood. A week after getting an agent, she got a phone call offering an audition Everything everywhere at once. It turned out that by chance the director Daniel Kwan Came across a reference to Kuan online and wondered what happened to him all this time. It was Jeff Cohen who took care of Quan’s contract after his role as Choco in the movie, who became a lawyer!

new arrival

The film offers Stephanie Hsu her first major role as Evelyn’s daughter Joy. The Danes met her while filming an episode of Awkwafina is Nora From Queens. “We reworked his character based on his sense of humor and quirkiness. This is a chance for a filmmaker to write a role inspired by the actor who will play it. His personality has opened up a lot of opportunities for us and I think he has a very promising future.”