Karate Kid: Legends will have a tough time following up on Cobra Kai, but there are a few things this movie can do to place itself in the same tier. The Karate Kid franchise got its start in 1984, but 41 years later, it’s going strong. The Netflix spinoff series Cobra Kai wrapped up Johnny Lawrence’s story with its sixth and final season, just in time to kick off Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan’s new Karate Kid: Legends (releasing May 30, 2025). Things certainly looks bright for the franchise overall, but that wasn’t always the case.

Cobra Kai was really what brought the Karate Kid franchise back to life. Following Macchio’s three movies in the 1980s, there were two more attempts to produce new films. One was 2010’s The Karate Kid, which starred Chan as an alternative version of Mr. Miyagi and Jaden Smith as the new тιтular karate kid, Dre. This reboot wasn’t particularly well received, but Cobra Kai‘s first season in 2018 was a different story. For the next seven years, Johnny Lawrence’s nostalgic spinoff succeeded where other similar projects failed. So, how can Karate Kid: Legends duplicate this success?

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Karate Kid: Legends’ Fights Must Be Better Than The Ones In The Original Movie

Cobra Kai Really Kicked Up The Action

Every installment in the Karate Kid franchise features exciting fights, but the style of choreography has varied from one to another. Part of what made Cobra Kai so exciting was the way it took the various fights to the extreme. Daniel’s fights in the original Karate Kid movies were more or less realistic, but Cobra Kai threw believability out the window for visually fantastic feats of strength and athleticism that were fun to watch.

Compared to Macchio’s Karate Kid movies, Chan and Smith’s reboot also increased the intensity of the fight choreography. However, the 2010 movie took itself a bit too seriously. While Karate Kid: Legends can’t be as outrageous as Cobra Kai, the coming movie must find the appropriate balance.

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Karate Kid: Legends Must Embrace What Came Before It (Including Cobra Kai)

The Overall Story Must Be Cohesive

Though the original Karate Kid movies, Cobra Kai, and the upcoming Karate Kid: Legends are all part of the same franchise, they aren’t entirely cohesive. Cobra Kai used Daniel and Johnny’s origins in the 1980s movies as a foundation and rounded out their overall arcs in a smooth, cohesive way. However, season 6 made no reference to the fact that Macchio’s Daniel would be continuing into a new movie. His story came to a satisfying close and that was that since the creators of Cobra Kai have nothing to do with Karate Kid: Legends.

It would seem that Macchio and Chan’s upcoming movie would ignore the events of Cobra Kai, but this would be a mᴀssive mistake. Though Karate Kid: Legends is created by a different group of people, it’s essential that the story feels like an organic continuation of what came before. Daniel’s Karate Kid and Cobra Kai story must be part of the foundation for his continued story.

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Karate Kid: Legends Must Put A Fresh Twist On The Original Movie’s Formula

Cobra Kai Worked Because It Made The Old Formula Unique

There are dozens of ways that Cobra Kai could have flopped. However, the spinoff series found the perfect way to make the Karate Kid franchise feel fresh. The 1984 movie follows a formula that is now deeply familiar. An old, wise sensei uses unconventional means to teach an underdog teenager martial arts so he can stand up to his bullies. 2010’s Karate Kid movie duplicated this formula to a tee, and, in a way, so did Cobra Kai. However, Johnny’s version put a significant twist on things.

Cobra Kai put the rough and anti-PC Johnny Lawrence in the position of wise sensei and saw him comedically use very non-Miyagi methods to teach his underdog student, Miguel, how to fight. This was precisely what allowed Cobra Kai to be so successful. Karate Kid: Legends will similarly have to find a way to make the familiar formula of The Karate Kid feel new and unique.

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Karate Kid: Legends Must Challenge Black & White Morality

Cobra Kai Was All About Redemption

Morality in the Karate Kid movies was pretty black and white. Mr. Miyagi and Daniel were good, but bullies like Johnny Lawrence, John Kreese, Chozen Toguchi, and more were bad. There might have been some flexibility here (such as with Johnny giving Daniel the All-Valley trophy in the end), but the villains were still remembered as villains. Cobra Kai challenged this. The spinoff aimed to show audiences the other side of these otherwise despicable characters.

While Karate Kid: Legends can’t depend on Cobra Kai‘s theme of redemption, it would feel somewhat disjointed if the new movie jumped right back into the black-and-white thinking. The villains of this movie must be more dynamic than that. Macchio and Chan’s latest movie seems to be off to the right start, with teases that their new student may be on a destructive path.

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Karate Kid: Legends Must Feature A Mix Of Characters

There Must Be More To Love

One of the benefits of Cobra Kai‘s six seasons is that there was a lot more room to explore a broader range of characters. This is more difficult for a movie to do since there is only an hour or two to make these characters feel like real people. However, after falling in love with so many different types of fighters in Cobra Kai, it would be difficult to return to the typical focus on one teacher, one sensei, one love interest, and a couple of bullying villains.

Karate Kid: Legends already seems to be taking inspiration from Cobra Kai in this regard since Macchio’s Daniel and Chan’s Mr. Han will both be serving as wise teachers in the upcoming movie. Of course, there is still some room here to expand. Karate Kid: Legends can’t feature as many characters as Cobra Kai, but if there are a handful of lovable fighters, the upcoming movie can give the Karate Kid franchise even more longevity.