Initially, the filmmakers considered casting Jackie Chan in the lead role, but the script was later revised to feature a female protagonist.

[1] The character and the film were inspired by the works of Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, the children's book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and the video game Everything.

"[8] In August 2018, it was announced that Yeoh had been cast as the lead in what was described as an "interdimensional action film" from Kwan and Scheinert, with Anthony and Joe Russo producing.

In the main universe, as a young woman, she elopes with her husband, Waymond Wang, to the United States, defying her father's wishes and risking disownment.

The story hints at her numerous attempts to pursue various paths, such as writing a novel, becoming a chef, teaching, becoming a singing coach, and even working as a masseuse, all of which ultimately ended in disappointment.

In the elevator at the regional IRS office, Evelyn has her first encounter with Alpha-Waymond, a version of Waymond from the "Alphaverse", and sees a flashback of her own life.

Meanwhile, Evelyn is having discussions in parallel in a janitor's closet with Alpha-Waymond, who tells her that every disappointment and failure she has experienced in life has made her uniquely qualified to save every world in the infinite multiverse from catastrophe.

In the Alphaverse, the brilliant late Alpha-Evelyn developed "verse-jumping" technology, which enables people to access the physical skills, knowledge, and memories of their parallel selves by performing bizarre actions that are statistically unlikely.

As chaos ensues around them, Evelyn herself experiences verse-jumping, briefly discovering other versions of herself including the glamorous kung fu film star that she could have been if she had refused to marry Waymond all those years ago.

Just as Evelyn enters the Bagel with Jobu, she pauses to listen to Waymond's pleas for everybody to stop fighting and to instead be kind, even when life does not make sense.

Evelyn has an existentialist epiphany and decides to follow Waymond's absurdist[10] and humanist[11] advice, using her multiverse powers to fight with empathy[12] and bring happiness to those around her; in doing so, she repairs her damage in the other universes and neutralizes Alpha-Gong Gong's fighters.

"[21][22] Marya E. Gates of RogerEbert.com praised Yeoh as the "anchor of the film," highlighting her versatility—from martial arts prowess to comedic timing to expressing deep human emotion.

[23] Maureen Ryan of Vanity Fair emphasized how Yeoh portrayed Evelyn with "melancholy, regret, resolve, and curiosity," making her performance "positively gripping.

Adam Nayman of The Ringer called the movie "a love letter to Yeoh," providing her the opportunity to display both her acting range and the iconic fight choreography from her earlier career.

[25] Tasha Robinson of Polygon pointed to a key scene between Evelyn and her daughter Joy (in the form of rocks) as one of 2022's best movie moments, praising its emotional resonance and humor.