For a while Cobra Kai was considered to be the definitive follow-up to the Karate Kid franchise that started back in the 80s, but now Sony Pictures is set to bring the IP back to theatres with their upcoming Karate Kid reboot.
We’ve known about the cast for a while, but now director Jonathan Entwistle has confirmed the start of production by sharing the slate for Karate Kid:
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There’s also a photo of the slate with new lead Ben Wang (American-Born Chinese):
https://twitter.com/CultureCrave/status/1775417879921598811
Not only will this movie be bringing back the OG Karate Kid Ralph Macchio, but the story will also be bringing into canon the 2010 Karate Kid which starred Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Though a lot of fans like to argue that KK2010 is more of Kung Fu Kid than Karate Kid, it did have its good amount of fans and it will probably tug at some nostalgia for adult Gen-Z audiences.
As for Cobra Kai fans, show creators Jon Hurwitz, John Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg may not be directly involved, but it was reported that they have given their notes to the scripts for the film, and show their full support to the director.
Personally, I’d love for there to be more appearances from Cobra Kai regulars like Billy Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) and Xolo Mariduena (Miguel Diaz), but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Heck, I’d be happy to see Jaden Smith make a cameo.
Karate Kid is set to hit theatres this coming Dec. 13.
