“Everything Everywhere All at Once” filmmakers Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert were recently interviewed by Edgar Wright for Sight and Sound, where they discussed maximalist cinema and why their indie multiverse hit has resonated so strongly with audiences around the globe. The directors, collectively known as the Daniels, said that while the film largely avoids exploring the Internet in favor of traveling to other universes, the themes of over-stimulation and abundance of choice were fueled by internet culture. “I realized that we never say anything about the Internet,” Scheinert said. “We don’t really point at anyone’s phone. No one is looking at social media. But the movie is totally a reaction to that. Jobu/Joy is like a character that grew up on the internet who is struggling to be understood by her mum, who did not grow up on the internet. I don’t want to tell you about the chat rooms I went into when I was 10, but it was weird. It’s changed just how over-stimulated and distracted we are.”
While the lack of Internet references in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” didn’t hurt the film (it turns out that hot dog hands are interesting enough on their own), it certainly left an opening for another movie. The Daniels had previously said that they were “actively exploring” a sequel, although no more news has emerged on that front. But when Edgar Wright made a comment about how so many adults feel like their parents have become “radicalized” by social media, the directors jumped in and revealed one of their ideas for a potential sequel. “Actually, if we ever were to do a sequel to this movie, it would be about Evelyn getting radicalized,” Kwan said. “And then Joy would have to go out and save her mom.” Much of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” revolved around Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) saving the world despite the best efforts of her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu). It appears that, if a sequel does materialize, the Daniels would prefer to flip the dynamic of the mother-daughter relationship and make Joy the hero. That, combined with an internet equivalent of the hot dog hands universe, should be enough to excite anyone. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
