Since Karate Kid: Legends will carry the overarching franchise’s torch after Cobra Kai season 6’s part 3, audiences will compare it to the long-running Netflix series. However, a closer look at Karate Kid: Legends‘ narrative and storytelling approach suggests it deserves to be compared to an entirely different franchise film. While only time will tell whether the new Karate Kid movie will pave the way for more follow-ups, this comparison highlights how it holds immense potential.

Long before Cobra Kai hit the small screens, the Karate Kid franchise was primarily known for its first movie installment, which is still touted as one of the most inspirational sports movies. The 2010 reboot, too, has aged fairly well, but its inability to trigger a new set of films makes it a relatively less influential movie than the original Karate Kid. Cobra Kai, however, effectively changed how viewers perceived the franchise by bringing something novel to the table. Owing to this, Karate Kid: Legends will be compared to it. However, this comparison would be unfair for more reasons than one.

Karate Kid: Legends Could Be To Karate Kid What Creed Was To Rocky

Like Creed, Karate Kid: Legends’ Primary Focus Is On A Fighter From A New Generation

In its six-season runtime, Cobra Kai has significantly evolved, and it is hard to stay invested in the stories of many of its characters. Owing to its critical and commercial success, Cobra Kai has also managed to etch its own idenтιтy in the action drama genre and will forever be remembered as one of the best additions to the Karate Kid franchise. However, in its early seasons, Cobra Kai served more as a direct follow-up to the first Karate Kid film. While it introduced a new generation of fighters, its primary story beats were driven by the rivalry between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso.

This is where Karate Kid: Legends seems significantly different, making it more similar to Creed. Like Creed, Karate Kid: Legends is marking the return of legacy characters from the parent movie series. However, its main character is a gifted fighter who, with the right guidance, can achieve big feats like Adonis. Like Creed focuses less on Rocky’s past and more on his future with his new student, Karate Kid: Legends seems to be doing something similar by walking viewers through Daniel and Mr. Han’s journey as mentors to a promising young fighter.

Karate Kid: Legends Looks More Similar To Creed Than To Cobra Kai

It Has A More Standalone Storyline

While Cobra Kai has given viewers a lot to look forward to, one of the biggest reasons behind its success has been its ability to reintegrate legacy characters into fresh narratives. Even characters, like Terry Silver, from critically panned installments of the franchise got the opportunity to shine in Cobra Kai. Karate Kid: Legends, like Creed, cannot be expected to do the same. It is bringing back Daniel LaRusso and the reboot’s Mr. Han, but it seems to focus more on having a standalone narrative.

Like Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa serves more as a bridge to fill the gap between Rocky and Creed, Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso are also pieces of a larger puzzle that complete Karate Kid: Legends‘ story but do not wholly define it. Similar to Adonis Creed, Karate Kid: Legends‘ Li Fong has the potential to single-handedly represent the franchise’s future if all goes well for the new film. While Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Han will provide him with valuable lessons from their shared past with Mr. Miyagi, the film will be driven by Fong’s growth as an individual and a martial artist.

Karate Kid: Legends Can Explore The Franchise’s Legacy Differently From Cobra Kai

Karate Kid: Legends Already Seems Different From Cobra Kai

Although only time will tell how Karate Kid: Legends will turn out, the movie already seems significantly different from Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai has been incredibly self-aware, comical, and meta. It has not shied away from drawing many references to 80s pop culture and the original Karate Kid movies. Similar to most installments in the franchise, Karate Kid: Legends also seems to be honoring Mr. Miyagi’s legacy by making him a crucial part of its narrative. However, it seems far more serious and less self-aware than Cobra Kai.

If it has to be compared with a movie from the franchise, it should be the 2010 reboot movie. However, given how Karate Kid: Legends surprisingly features a team-up between Mr. Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso, comparing it with the 2010 reboot would also be unfair since the reboot had no narrative connections with previous films. While it is understandable why many viewers are skeptical about Karate Kid: Legends, it seems to be on the right path toward becoming less like Cobra Kai and more like the Karate Kid franchise’s Creed.