One line from the Karate Kid: Legends trailer reveals that the premise of the movie may slightly copy the lowest-rated Karate Kid movie. The Karate Kid franchise began in 1984, when Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso was first coached by Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi. Throughout the first three Karate Kid movies, Daniel and Mr. Miyagi formed a special bond. However, Macchio did not return for the fourth film in the series, 1994’s The Next Karate Kid. Therefore, Mr. Miyagi found a new student in the critically-panned The Next Karate Kid.
The upcoming Karate Kid: Legends will be the first time Macchio appears in a Karate Kid movie since 1989. The story of Karate Kid: Legends follows Daniel and Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han, who starred in the 2010 Karate Kid reboot, as they train a new student, Li Fong. In addition to Macchio and Chan, the cast of Karate Kid: Legends includes Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Ming-Na Wen, Sadie Stanley, and Wyatt Oleff. Based on the first trailer for the movie, it seems like Karate Kid: Legends may have some similar qualities as The Next Karate Kid.
Mr. Han Having Another Student Mirrors Mr. Miyagi’s Next Karate Kid Story
Mr. Han Needs To Mention Dre In Karate Kid: Legends
Similar to how Mr. Miyagi finds a new student after Daniel in The Next Karate Kid, the trailer for Karate Kid: Legends reveals that Mr. Han has found a new student after training Dre Parker in the 2010 reboot. In The Next Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi trains Hilary Swank’s Julie instead of Daniel. However, Mr. Miyagi never even directly mentions Daniel in the movie, which is weird considering how much their relationship progressed over the first three Karate Kid films.
In the trailer, Mr. Han claims that his relationship with Li Fong is similar to Daniel and Mr. Miyagi’s bond. Just like how Mr. Miyagi never mentions Daniel in The Next Karate Kid, Mr. Han never brings up Dre, who he also had a special bond with, in the trailer. Since they went on such an inspiring journey together in the Karate Kid reboot, it would be disappointing if Mr. Han just completely ignores Dre’s existence in Karate Kid: Legends.
Karate Kid: Legends Must Be Careful Not To Ignore Dre Parker After The 2010 Film
Mr. Han & Dre Formed A Special Bond In The 2010 Karate Kid Movie
By bringing Daniel and Mr. Han together, Karate Kid: Legends is honoring the franchise’s past. However, characters like Dre and Julie should not be completely forgotten. While it is possible that Hilary Swank and Jaden Smith will reprise their roles in Karate Kid: Legends, their appearances have not been confirmed. Since Mr. Han grew so close to Dre in the reboot movie, he should at least be acknowledged in Karate Kid: Legends, even if Smith doesn’t return.
|
Karate Kid Movies |
RT Critics Score |
|---|---|
|
The Karate Kid (1984) |
90% |
|
The Karate Kid Part II (1986) |
45% |
|
The Karate Kid Part III (1989) |
15% |
|
The Next Karate Kid (1994) |
7% |
|
The Karate Kid (2010) |
67% |
|
Karate Kid: Legends (2025) |
n/a |
Mr. Han ignoring his time with Dre in Karate Kid: Legends would make it seem like he forgot about his former student right when he started training Li Fong. The relationship between a student and a teacher is meant to have significance in the Karate Kid franchise, so emphasis should be placed on this in Karate Kid: Legends. Therefore, it would be very disappointing if Mr. Han doesn’t talk about Dre in Karate Kid: Legends.
