If you haven’t heard yet, know that a new episode of “Karate Kid” will be released and that it will bring together Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio! We are working on this highly anticipated project which will be released after the broadcast of season 6 of “Cobra Kai”.
Prepare for a new fight! In 2025, Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio will team up to offer us a new opus of the Karate Kid saga at the cinema! We take stock of the progress of the project, which will land after the broadcast of the spin-off series Cobra Kai, which will end after its 6th season.
Karate Kid, when is it coming out?
The new Karate Kid will be released on May 28, 2025 in France. It was in November 2023 that Jackie Chan, star of the 2010 remake, and Ralph Macchio, hero of the original trilogy, announced the good news.
This will be the 6th installment of the cinema saga after the 3 films with Ralph Macchio, Miss Karate Kid with Hilary Swank (1994) and the 2010 reboot. “We’re going to star together in a brand new Karate Kid movie”revealed Macchio, standing in the video below alongside Jackie Chan.
What will it say?
For the moment, no clues regarding the plot of this new opus have been revealed. We just know that a new Karate Kid will be at the center of the story and that he will surely be trained by Han and LaRusso. This cross-over of the Karate Kid franchises does not, however, seem linked to the universe of the Cobra Kai series, and its creators were not invited to participate in the writing of the feature film.
Who will star in the film?
Ralph Macchio will obviously reprise his role of Daniel LaRusso and Jackie Chan that of Han, which he played in the 2010 reboot. The two universes will thus cross paths. On the other hand, as noted above, the story does not seem to take Cobrai Kai into account; therefore, it is also unclear if William Zabka, aka Johnny Lawrence, will be back.
Ben Wang, 24, seen in particular in the series Chinese American, Legion and MacGyver, will play Li Fong, the new star of the franchise. According to sources at Sony cited by Variety, the actor delivered a “exceptional audition, which demonstrated his deep connection with the character.”
Ben Wang, who speaks fluent Mandarin, is also proficient in many forms of martial arts, including Karate, Wing Chun/Kung Fu, Gumdo, Kempo and Taekwondo. He therefore has all the qualities required to excel in this demanding role.
Note that Joshua Jackson, Ming-Na Wen, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Sadie Stanley, Aramis Knight, Wyatt Oleff and Jennifer-Lynn Christie will be there.
Who is directing this new episode?
Jonathan Entwistle was responsible for directing this new episode of Karate Kid. Currently, the film is in the post-production phase. The filmmaker is known for having directed episodes of series like I Am Not Okay With This or The End of The Fucking World.
A true pop culture phenomenon spanning nearly 4 decades, the Karate Kid franchise grossed $618 million worldwide in 5 films. The license was relaunched in 2018 with the triumph of the spin-off series Cobra Kai. The 6th and final season of the show will arrive on Netflix in July 2024.
