Cobra Kai‘s final season is not the end for The Karate Kid franchise. A new featured film starring familiar faces will soon continue the martial arts story on the big screen. Who else will join Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan in this latest chapter? How will it connect different eras? And who will bring it to the screen and when? We got quite a few answers at NYCC 2024. Prior to the event, the official Karate Kid movie account on X posted about its upcoming panel and seemed to reveal the film’s new title and logo. Now we, know for sure thanks to a new trailer and poster that it is Karate Kid: Legends, which makes sense with returning characters.
For now, the trailer for Karate Kid: Legends isn’t available online and was only shown to NYCC attendees. But we do have this description from Yahoo! about what went down in the clip.
In the brief clip, which has not yet been released to the public, we see Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) pay a visit to Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) Miyagi-Do. Han enlists Daniel to help him train Li Fong (Ben Wang) to become the next Karate Kid. The trailer echoes a lot of the first Karate Kid movie, with Li fighting off bullies, trying to impress his love interest (Sadie Stanley), and entering his first competition.
Hopefully, it will release soon.
Here’s everything we know about the next Karate Kid movie so far.
Title
The title is Karate Kid: Legends.
Karate Kid‘s Plot
Sony Picture’s still-untitled Karate Kid featured film will see Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso) and Jackie Chan (Mr. Han) return to the franchise, in a story that combines their different eras of The Karate Kid movies. The studio has not yet released an official synopsis for the film. Sony has only said it will “continue the mythology of the original franchise.”
Early reports indicate it will take place on the East Coast rather than in California, and that it will center on on a teenage from China “who finds strength and direction via martial arts and a tough but wise mentor.”
Behind-the-Scenes
Jonathan Entwistle (I’m Not Okay with This) will direct. The screenplay comes from Rob Lieber (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day).
Cobra Kai co-creator Jon Hurwitz is not involved with the film. He also confirmed the movie is not connected to his TV series.
Karate Kid: Legends‘ Cast
In addition to Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, the film will also feature the great Ming-Na Wen. And after announcing the movie with a global talent search for its young star, Sony picked American Born Chinese‘s Ben Wang as its new martial arts student.
Karate Kid: Legends‘ Release Date
The newest Karate Kid movie won’t take long to reach theaters. It will premiere on May 30, 2025.
Originally published March 8, 2024.
