Legends Is Continuing A Cobra Kai Tradition That Made The Franchise So Much Better

Although the upcoming Karate Kid: Legends won’t serve as a direct sequel to Cobra Kai, the 2025 legacy sequel is still being passed the torch by the Netflix spinoff show in one very specific way. Although all five Karate Kid movies (six if Legends is considered) are now set within the same canon, the 2010 Karate Kid remake with Jack Chan is a fairly recent addition to the continuity, as it was originally a standalone project that was quite clearly a reimagining of the 1984 original. However, if it weren’t for Cobra Kai, this aggressive retcon would never have happened.

Karate Kid: Legends‘ cast will be much smaller when compared with Cobra Kai. That being said, it’s arguably just as exciting – if not more so. The movie will unite Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han for the first time in franchise history – an occurrence that once would have been canonically incoherent. It will be Macchio’s first Karate Kid movie where he isn’t the title character, as Daniel will seemingly act as co-sensei to Ben Wang’s Lee Fong.

Karate Kid: Legends Is Doing For The 2010 Remake What Cobra Kai Did For Parts II & III

Jackie Chan’s Karate Kid character is finally getting the attention he deserves

Jackie Chan’s Karate Kid movie was never bad, but it was always something of an outcast among the other franchise entries. It was always viewed as just a remake that was confusingly about Kung Fu instead of its titular style of combat. In other words, it never really had a life of its own. Now, with it being integrated into the Miyagi-verse, the 2010 project’s hard work is finally being validated. Interestingly, Cobra Kai has achieved something very similar for other Karate Kid installments.

1984’s The Karate Kid movie was a smash hit, but the next two movies weren’t quite as well-received, with The Karate Kid Part III experiencing an especially notable downturn at the box office. So, most of Macchio’s original trilogy fell by the wayside, with only the first movie being held in any kind of ongoing esteem. Decades later, Cobra Kai came along and kickstarted the validation of both The Karate Kid Part II and The Karate Kid Part III.

Ralph Macchio’s Original Karate Kid Trilogy Got A Lot Better After Cobra Kai

The Netflix show brought back inert franchise storylines and improved them tenfold

Because Cobra Kai‘s main building block was the iconic friction between Daniel and Johnny, it was able to bring back later franchise storylines and characters much more effectively. The original Karate Kid movie is still viewed by many as one of the best movies from the 1980s, but it was still improved even further by the existence of Cobra Kai, shedding new light on classic storylines while also introducing brand-new plots and characters. However, the Netflix legacy sequel show had a little more work to do when redeeming the second two Macchio movies.

Related

The Best Thing About Jackie Chan’s Karate Kid Movie Might Not Be Back For Karate Kid: Legends

While many would expect Karate Kid: Legends to recreate the best aspect of Jackie Chan’s Karate Kid film, the new movie will likely defy expectations.

Although Cobra Kai was produced to make the Karate Kid movies optional viewing, watching the original trilogy can still add extra context to the various storylines that run through the spinoff. Before Cobra Kai, watching said movies could be a bit of a struggle after the end of the first, but that’s changed now. Just as the underwhelming second and third movies provide a strong basis for Cobra Kai, the show also changes how certain legacy characters are viewed in their original setting, and Karate Kid: Legends will pull off something very similar for Chan’s character and his 2010 remake.

Your changes have been saved

My List

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Karate Kid: Legends (2025) is a sequel to Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid directed by Jonathan Entwistle. The film sees Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan reprising their roles, continuing the legacy of martial arts mentorship and rivalry in a new era of challenges and apprentices.

Release Date

May 30, 2025

Cast

Ralph Macchio
, Jackie Chan
, Ben Wang
, Ming-Na Wen
, Joshua Jackson
, Sadie Stanley
, Aramis Knight
, Wyatt Oleff

Character(s)

Daniel LaRusso
, Mr. Han
, Li Fong

Director

Jonathan Entwistle

Writers

Robert Mark Kamen
, Christopher Murphey
, Rob Lieber

Distributor(s)

Sony Pictures Entertainment

Expand