The first Karate Kid franchise starred Ralph Macchio as a bullied high schooler who finds strength and purpose by learning karate from an eccentric master. The film was a huge hit and spawned two film sequels (and later a Cobra Kai TV series on Netflix), as well as a spinoff film, The Next Karate Kid, starring the master (the late great Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi) and a new pupil (a young Hilary Swank!).
Then, in 2010, The Karate Kid concept was rebooted, with Hong Kong action legend Jackie Chan in the role of the older master (now called Mr. Han) who teaches a student (Jaden Smith) martial arts. That movie was not connected in any way to the earlier Karate Kid movies — until now.
Now there’s a new Karate Kid sequel, the first since 2010, and it stars both Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan. In Karate Kid: Legends, they team up to train a new student, played by Ben Wang. The film’s tagline — “Two branches. One tree.” — even alludes to the way Sony has taken two unconnected versions of the same concept and merged them into a single cinematic universe.
Watch the Karate Kid: Legends trailer below.
READ MORE: Cobra Kai Is Nearing the End
Macchio has been playing his Karate Kid character, Daniel La Russo, for six seasons on Cobra Kai, and presumably this film will reflect the stories from that show — although the creators of Cobra Kai are not involved in this movie, and the trailer doesn’t show any of the its other characters besides Daniel.
Here is Karate Kid: Legends’ official synopsis:
In Karate Kid: Legends, after a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. Li struggles to let go of his past as he tries to fit in with his new classmates, and although he doesn’t want to fight, trouble seems to find him everywhere. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren’t enough. Li’s kung fu teacher Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.
Karate Kid: Legends is scheduled to open in theaters on May 30, 2025.
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