Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan and making sure that the Miyagi-verse will continue beyond Cobra Kai‘s sixth and final season. On Tuesday, Sony Pictures announced that the duo are reprising their iconic characters from the Karate Kid universe for a brand-new film set to release next year.
According to Sony Pictures, the movie will both fuse and continue the movies’ mythology and bring the story to the East Coast, focusing on a teen from China who finds strength and direction via martial arts and a tough but wise mentor.
Other plot details are being kept under wraps, but the studio shared that Macchio will reprise his role as Daniel LaRusso from the original Karate Kid film trilogy, which began in 1984 when Macchio’s Daniel moved to California and became an unlikely karate champion under the tutelage of Mr. Miyagi, played by the late Pat Morita.
Macchio returned to the role for Netflix’s Cobra Kai, created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. The series, which premiered its fifth season last September and reunited several members of the Karate Kid III cast, takes place several decades after the events of the original trilogy and reignites a rivalry between the now middle-aged Daniel and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). In January, the streamer renewed the series for a final season, teasing that the sixth batch of episodes will be the “biggest season yet.”
Chan will reprise the role of Mr. Han from the 2010 film remake that aimed to update the Karate Kid story for more modern and global audiences. Chan’s handyman was a kung fu master inspired by Morita’s Mr. Miyagi, who coached Jaden Smith‘s Dre Parker.
In a video released on Tuesday, Chan and Macchio share that not only will they reprise their roles, but they will also assist in a global search for a Chinese actor to play the new karate kid and lead the movie. The pair invited young actors to submit audition tapes to KarateKidCasting.com.
The franchise’s new installment will be led by director Jonathan Entwistle and writer Rob Lieber, and is currently slated to premiere in theaters on Dec. 13, 2024. Karen Rosenfelt is producing.
Watch the announcement video below.
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