Karate Kid: Legends, a new Karate Kid movie starring Jackie Chan, Ben Wang and Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio is set to hit theatres on May 30 next year, the makers announced on Friday.
“Legends are forever. Jackie Chan, Ben Wang, and Ralph Macchio star in Karate Kid: Legends – exclusively in movie theatres May 30, 2025. #KarateKidMovie,” the makers wrote on X, dropping the first-look poster.
The poster features Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and Chan as Mr. Han. Ben Wang plays Li Fong, a young teenager from China who finds identity and strength in martial arts. Macchio and Chan will be seen training Wang in the film, which also stars Joshua Jackson, Ming-Na Wen and Sadie Stanley.
The upcoming Karate Kid movie was announced back in September 2022, with Macchio and Chan confirmed to reprise their roles from previous films in the franchise. Jonathan Entwistle has directed the movie from a script by Rob Lieber.
Karate Kid: Legends will reportedly serve as a connection between the mainline films featuring Daniel as the central character and the 2010 remake where Mr. Han trained Dre Parker (Jaden Smith).
The Karate Kid franchise began with the 1984 film directed by John G. Avildsen. The story follows Daniel LaRusso, a teenager who learns karate from Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), a handyman and martial arts master, to defend himself against bullies and compete in a karate tournament.
The film’s success led to two sequels, The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid Part III (1989), which followed Daniel’s journey, exploring Mr. Miyagi’s past and Daniel’s further growth as a martial artist.
In 1994, The Next Karate Kid introduced a new student, Julie Pierce (Hilary Swank), with Mr. Miyagi continuing as her mentor.
In 2010, a reboot starred Jaden Smith as Dre Parker and Chan as Mr. Han. This version, set in China, focused on Dre learning kung fu (despite the title) to face his bullies and enter a martial arts tournament.
The franchise found new life in 2018 with Cobra Kai, a TV series that revisited the rivalry between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), set 30 years after the original film. All six seasons of the show are available to stream on Netflix.
According to media reports, Karate Kid: Legends will pick up where Cobra Kai season 6 left off.
