Karate Kid: Legends: What To Know About Post-Cobra Kai Movie

If The Karate Kid franchise has taught us anything (beyond how underdogs can continue to prevail even in this era), it’s that “Cobra Kai will never die.” What happens, however, when the Cobra Kai finishes the Sekai Taikai theatrics and the spin off is put to rest after six seasons next year? Sure, there could be other spin off series in the future (and we will get there when we do), but first, the time will be right for another movie headlined by Ralph Macchio. That would be Karate Kid: Legends from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Does Coldplay’s new song have anything to do with this film? Ralph Macchio did pop into the video, so you never know, but let’s piece together clues on what we can truly expect:

Plot

This film will bring together two opposing halves of The Karate Kid movies when Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han come together to co-mentor the next martial arts rising star, portrayed by Ben Wang. Sony’s poster gives a glimpse of his moves, which must have unequivocally impressed because Wang — who is proficient in not only karate but kung fu and tempo, among other martial arts — won his role after a worldwide casting call that attracted over 10,000 hopefuls. The meeting between LaRusso and Han, however, might have been somewhat unexpected for those who are aware of how Macchio originally said no thank you to a cameo in the Jaden Smith/Chan movie, which was not part of the Miyagiverse.

The resulting faux-controversy was fully put to rest in Macchio’s Waxing On memoir, and given how careful he has been with The Karate Kid legacy, we can trust in Macchio that Karate Kid: Legends will be a worthy addition to the franchise, which had been uncomfortably bifurcated by the 1984 and 2010 films, although the original trilogy (apologies to Hilary Swank’s The Next Karate Kid, too) could never be surpassed because the Miyagi-LaRusso dynamic is second to none in this universe.

In the upcoming Legends movie, the action will move from the Valley (and Barcelona) to the East Coast, as initially revealed by Hollywood Reporter:

Plot details are being kept under a bonsai tree, but the new installment will bring the story to the East Coast and focus on a teen from China who finds strength and direction via martial arts and a tough but wise mentor (or maybe even two).

Macchio recently spoke with Variety about the Coldplay tune, and in the process, the My Cousin Vinny actor revealed that Legends takes place about three years following Cobra Kai‘s final season:

“It was not a quick decision, because it was about protecting the Daniel LaRusso character, and finding where he would be at that point, and then protecting the whole legacy in the Miyagi-verse. Once we were able to line that up, for the ‘Cobra Kai’ story to lead into the new film — even though they’re separate ecosystems — it all made sense for me. Then, working with Jackie was just super exciting. I started this on the big screen. How cool is it to get it back to the big screen?”

The East Coast setting suggests little chance for any Cobra Kai cameos or crossovers, but never say never, especially if Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) figures out how to FaceTime. Martin Kove, however, let Screenrant know that John Kreese will not be involved, although he gleefully talked some trash by suggesting that it might have only taken “about 10 days” to film the movie, and “none of us were invited.” Somebody might be trolling:

“On this picture, I don’t know. It’s kept under wraps pretty well. I haven’t talked to Ralph about it; I will… Ralph went off for about 10 days, did it, and that was it. None of us were invited to come and play. When they don’t invite me, it’s okay, because I know why: They’re inviting trouble.”

Cast

The definite names: Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan in their iconic roles along with and Ben Wang. Also confirmed: Joshua Jackson, Ming-Na Wen, Sadie Stanley, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Jennifer-Lynn Christie, Aramis Knight, and Wyatt Oleff.