Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan Set to Unite for New Karate Kid Movie, Confirms Will Smith’s Reboot Part of Cobra Kai Universe
Created by Robert Mark Kamen, The Karate Kid is an American martial arts drama franchise that follows the journey of various coming-of-the-age teenagers who are taught martial arts by an experienced mentor to stand up for themselves after being bullied or asserting dominance towards others.
After the success of the first movie titled The Karate Kid in 1984 three sequel movies followed which were also successful and grew popular amongst the audience. In 2010, The Karate Kid starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith was remade with a similar storyline but different characters, and the movie focused on Kung Fu instead of Karate. There has been an update on the highly anticipated sequel of the movie.
Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio to unite for sequel of The Karate Kid
Actors Jackie Chan, who starred in 2010’s The Karate Kid, and Ralph Macchio, who starred in 1984’s The Karate Kid, are reportedly gearing up to reprise their respective characters of Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso in the upcoming sequel of The Karate Kid for Sony Pictures. Jonathan Entwistle is set to direct the movie that, according to THR, the studio is positioning as the fusing and continuation of the mythology of the original franchise.
Interestingly, in the upcoming movie written by Rob Lieber, the characters of Chan and Macchio will be seen interacting with each other. Currently, there is a global casting search going on to find the Chinese-American kid from the East Coast who will be playing the titular character on-screen.
Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio announced the global casting search for the kid for a movie, which is scheduled for a release on December 13, 2024. No plot details from the movie have been revealed as of now. 1984’s The Karate Kid ventured into developing a television series as a part of its sequel, which is how the world got Cobra Kai, created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg.
Back in September 2022, Macchio was asked about the update on the Karate Kid movie to which he said that he had no information before adding that he thinks that the project may come in the future or he may have nothing to do with it.
Ralph Macchio talks about fans reaching out to Karate Kid via Cobra Kai
Actor Ralph Macchio, who reprised his character of Daniel LaRusso for Cobra Kai where his rivalry with opponent Johnny Lawrence is reignited, spoke to People Magazine about how exciting it is for them to see a different generation of fans have reached The Karate Kid via Cobra Kai. He said,
“Kids see the show and then tell their parents, ‘Hey, you should check this out. It’s really cool’. To go through the ebbs and flows of popularity for 36 plus years and now be in a place where parents, kids and even grandparents are sharing the same excitement is really special.”
The first two seasons of Cobra Kai were released on YouTube Premium before moving to Netflix, which gave the show a wider audience. Macchio will appear in the sixth and final season of the show.
Actor Will Smith is an executive producer for the series as his production company, Overbrook Entertainment, acquired the rights to spearhead the 2010 Karate Kid in which his son Jaden Smith starred. The franchise rights did not lapse, which is why Smith remains the executive producer of Cobra Kai.
