Cobra Kai Getting Erased In New Karate Kid Movie?

After all, the new Karate Kid movie is already bringing together what had seemed to be disparate versions of the Karate Kid universe to this point. Jackie Chan’s 2010 Karate Kid, co-starring Jaden Smith, was intended as a franchise reboot and brought Chan’s kung fu into the mix instead of Japanese martial arts as seen in the original movies. But this new movie will see Chan’s Mr. Han apparently joining forces with Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso, though no details of the story or other characters involved have yet been released.

That means we don’t know if Cobra Kai characters will make their way into the new Karate Kid film, including characters like Johnny Lawrence, who hail from the original movie. What we also don’t know is who the new titular Karate Kid will be and, it turns out, neither does anyone on the production. Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan appeared together in a new video announcing not only their involvement in the film but also an open casting call to select the new Karate Kid, which you can view here.

This new Karate Kid movie was announced last fall, but Chan and Macho were not then attached, at least publicly. For his part, Cobra Kai co-creator Jon Hurwitz said at the time that he wished the production well but was not involved at any level, leaving the question open as to whether there would be any crossover between the Netflix series and the movie. Now that Ralph Macchio is involved in the new film, there is definitely that chance, especially since Sony Pictures owns both projects.

Both the new Karate Kid film itself and the potential for a Cobra Kai crossover are certainly exciting news for fans of the Karate Kid franchise, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary when the new film is released. It’s a tight turnaround, but the new Karate Kid is set to come out on December 13, 2024, four decades after the original 1984 movie.

The film will also bring in new creative voices with a script by Rob Lieber, who wrote Peter Rabbit and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, under the direction of Jonathan Entwistle, director of The End Of The F***ing World.

For those who are skeptical about this new Karate Kid venture, be they Cobra Kai fans or otherwise, it is noteworthy to recall that Ralph Macchio has been famously careful about what projects he has been involved with and has wanted to ensure that anything he does with the Karate Kid franchise is true to the spirit of the original. Of course, this new film seems to cross over with the Jackie Chan reboot that he chose not to be involved with, but his presence gives it his blessing. This alone means we can likely look forward to a worthy entry into the franchise.