Originally published November 21, 2023. Updated November 22, 2023.
The Karate Kid franchise is about to grow even more as Sony has announced development of a new feature film with Ralph Macchio reprising his Karate Kid and Cobra Kai role as Daniel LaRusso alongside Jackie Chan reprising his role as Mr. Han from the 2019 Karate Kid remake.
The new Karate Kid will be directed by Jonathan Entwistle (The End of the F***ing World) from a script by Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit). There is no word on the film’s plot, but it will be a continuation of the franchise’s mythology that began with the 1984 original and has continued in Cobra Kai, fusing the remake into the story. It will take place on “the East Coast and focus on a teen from China who finds strength and direction via martial arts and a tough but wise mentor.”
In addition to the announcement of a new film, Sony released a video with Macchio and Chan announcing a worldwide casting call for the next karate kid…
The original films followed Daniel LaRusso as he learns karate under Mr. Miyagi to fend off some school bullies and wins a karate tournament. The next films continue to follow Daniel as he learns more life lessons from Miyagi and grows his karate skills. Cobra Kai is a continuation which began by focusing on Johnny Lawrence, Daniel’s bully, as he tries getting his life together by restarting Cobra Kai, the dojo that antagonized Daniel and Miyagi in two of the original films. Johnny and Daniel’s rivalry is reignited, but eventually grows into a mutual respect and even friendship of a sort.
The series also consists of The Next Karate Kid which starred Hilary Swank as a new student learning under Miyagi. While the 2010 film re-told the original with slight variations, it featured Chan and Jaden Smith as new protoganonists new characters, locations and karate groups that don’t impact the continuity, allowing for it to take place alongside the main series. Cobra Kai, meanwhile, is currently filming its sixth and final season which is likely to premiere next year.
The new Karate Kid will be released December 13th, 2024. Production will start in the spring.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
