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This coming weekend sees the debut of “Karate Kid: Legends”, a film that continues the storyline from the hit series “Cobra Kai” while also serving as a sequel that bridges two separate branches of the “Karate Kid” saga: the 1984 original “Karate Kid” and its subsequent spin-offs, and the 2010 “The Karate Kid“, initially marketed as a reboot. With the immense success of “Cobra Kai”, the legacy of the 2010 “The Karate Kid” movie has largely been overshadowed, with many recalling it primarily as a showcase for a young Jaden Smith.

15 years have passed since I watched “The Karate Kid” (2010), starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, a fresh take on the 1984 classic. This film follows the story of a young American boy who relocates to China, learns martial arts to tackle bullying, and forms an unlikely friendship with an enigmatic older teacher. Surprisingly, given its box office success that ranked among the top films of its year, “Karate Kid: Legends” comes as the closest thing we’ve had to a sequel for this movie. Sony Pictures attempted, unsuccessfully, for nearly a decade to transform it into an enduring franchise. This article will explore why Jaden Smith’s “The Karate Kid” never got a follow-up, detail previous efforts to incorporate the film into “Cobra Kai,” and how it eventually received the legacy sequel treatment through “Karate Kids: Legends.

‘The Karate Kid’ Was a Box Office Hit

Back in the sweltering summer of 2010, I wasn’t holding my breath for The Karate Kid remake. After all, the hype around ’80s remakes had started to wane a tad. What made it more intriguing was its rival at the box office – none other than The A-Team, a blockbuster based on the beloved ’80s TV show, boasting big names like Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper. With all that star power, The A-Team looked set to rule the weekend ticket sales.

However, despite Jackie Chan’s magnetic charm, it seemed like even he couldn’t whip up much enthusiasm for a Karate Kid reboot, which surprisingly swapped karate for kung fu in parts of the world (it was even marketed as The Kung Fu Kid there). I must admit, I wasn’t exactly jumping with anticipation either. Little did we know…

On June 11, 2010, “The Karate Kid” outperformed “The A-Team” at the box office. The former started strong with an opening day revenue of $18.8 million, which escalated to $21 million on Saturday and ultimately culminated in a weekend total of $55 million, securing the top position. Notably, “The Karate Kid” made more than twice as much as “The A-Team’s” $25 million opening weekend, effectively covering its initial production cost of $40 million. Despite “Toy Story 3” debuting the following week and dominating the summer, “The Karate Kid” still managed to earn $176 million domestically and $359 million globally. It ranked as the seventh-highest-grossing movie of that summer and the 11th-highest-grossing film of 2010.

It’s surprising that Sony Pictures found it challenging to produce a follow-up for the movie “The Karate Kid,” given its successful run at the box office and generally favorable reviews from both critics and family audiences. Considering how swiftly studios often release sequels based on popular films, this seems rather unexpected.

Sony Tried To Make a ‘Karate Kid’ Sequel, but Delays Forced It To Be Canceled

News about the upcoming movie titled “The Karate Kid 2” broke out soon following its predecessor’s release in 2010. Taking over the directorial role was Breck Eisner, who had previously directed “The Crazies” (in 2010), a stark contrast to Harold Zwart, known for directing family-friendly films like “Agent Cody Banks” and “The Pink Panther 2”, before helming “The Karate Kid”. This might indicate a grittier take compared to the original. Nevertheless, the production of the sequel moved at a snail’s pace, especially since Jaden Smith was occupied with his subsequent box office disappointment “After Earth” alongside his father Will Smith under director M. Night Shyamalan.

Because of the growing time difference between revisions, several writers took turns working on the project. These included Zak Penn (“The Incredible Hulk”), writing pair Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris (“Kung Fu Panda”), and duo Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer. Delays in production led to speculation that many of the new drafts aimed to develop Jaden Smith’s character, Dre Parker, further. In 2017, Chan suggested that earlier scripts for “The Karate Kid 2” were subpar, possibly prompting Sony to revise multiple drafts to meet both Chan’s and Smith’s expectations.

By 2014, Eisner had stepped away from directing due to scheduling clashes with “The Last Witch Hunter”. Work on “The Karate Kid 2” progressed slowly, and by 2017, Eisner found himself back on the project. However, as the year drew to a close, the project appeared stagnant. At the time “The Karate Kid” was released, Smith was just 12 years old. By 2017, he had nearly turned 20, seemingly too old for the original role.

During the same period, the trend of remakes in the 2000s and early 2010s began to shift, giving way to a new approach: legacy sequels. Movies like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, and Creed suggested that audiences preferred continuity in long-standing franchises over remakes. In the midst of this change, The Karate Kid was also embracing a legacy sequel. Instead of continuing the story of the 2010 film that served as a remake, it was decided to create a legacy sequel to the original Karate Kid trilogy, but this time focusing on Johnny Lawrence’s perspective. Thus, Cobra Kai was born and premiered in 2018.

‘Cobra Kai’ References to the 2010 Film and ‘Karate Kid: Legends’

Initially, Cobra Kai made its debut on YouTube Red, a platform not typically known for high viewership. Despite this, it received positive reviews and moved forward into a second season. Eventually, Netflix took notice and picked it up for four more seasons, broadening its audience reach. The first season of Cobra Kai primarily revisited characters from The Karate Kid. As the series progressed, it introduced more returning characters from the Karate Kid franchise, including those from The Karate Kid Part II and The Karate Kid Part III. This has left fans speculating whether the series might bring in Hilary Swank from The Next Karate Kid, or possibly incorporate elements of the 2010’s The Karate Kid to create a fifth film in the franchise.

In essence, the show Cobra Kai has a connection to the 2010 film version of The Karate Kid, but it doesn’t include Jessica Swank or any direct references. This is due to Will Smith’s production company, Overbrook Entertainment, gaining the rights to produce The Karate Kid in 2010, and these rights have remained intact even though they didn’t produce a sequel in 2010. Consequently, Cobra Kai was greenlit by Overbrook Entertainment, and although Smith doesn’t participate in the day-to-day production of the series, he still receives an executive producer credit for his role in acquiring the rights.

In the world of Cobra Kai, the creators had initially considered integrating the reboot of The Karate Kid into their larger narrative, but couldn’t find a way that was both significant and feasible. This was due to the fact that the character played by Jackie Chan, who appeared in the 2010 version of The Karate Kid, already exists within the Cobra Kai universe as an actor.

However, Ralph Macchio, who played Daniel LaRusso in the 2010 film, initially ruled out the possibility of the 2010’s Karate Kid being part of the broader Miyagi-Verse in 2021. However, by 2023, he had reconsidered this stance, and it was announced that Karate Kid: Legends would bring together Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso with Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han to train a new student while also exploring an uncharted history between Mr. Miyagi and Mr. Han.

Originally scheduled for release in 2024, the movie “Karate Kid: Legends” was pushed back to make room for the final season of “Cobra Kai,” which ended in February 2025. Although only Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan are returning from their respective parts of the franchise, there’s hope for more sequels that might bring back other characters. Many fans are excited about seeing popular “Cobra Kai” characters like Johnny Lawrence, Miguel Diaz, Samantha LaRusso, Tory Nichols, or Robby Keene again. However, it would also be great to revisit Jaden Smith’s character, Dre Parker, and find out what happened to him after the 2010 film.

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2025-06-01 04:03

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