Karate Kid: Legends is one of the most exciting movies releasing this year, serving as the first connective tissue between the original Karate Kid movies and the 2010 reboot film. The upcoming sequel brings a new central Karate Kid to the franchise, uniting Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han to continue to uphold Mr. Miyagi’s legacy. Karate Kid: Legends just released a new trailer, showing off the character that will likely take on the role of the main bully character, the most notable of which was the original Karate Kid‘s Johnny Lawrence.

While Karate Kid: Legends‘ returning cast is certainly its main draw, and the most exciting aspect of the movie will be seeing Macchio and Chan’s characters meet and work together, the new additions to the franchise are also shaping up to be great. Karate Kid: Legends‘ story seems to be taking a lot of inspiration from the original film, with a down-on-his-luck kid taking on a bully in a karate tournament with the help of his wise mentor. However, the film is also clearly taking inspiration from other Karate Kid media, which also manifests in the new bully’s look.

Connor Seems To Be The New Johnny Lawrence In Karate Kid: Legends

A New Character Is Taking Up The Bully Mantle In Legends

Johnny Lawrence’s replacement in Karate Kid: Legends is clearly going to be the new character Connor, played by relative newcomer Aramis Knight. The trailer doesn’t show off too many details of the character, but he will clearly take on the bully role throughout the film. He is shown to be the best fighter in New York, winning multiple versions of the Big Apple’s version of the All-Valley Tournament, known as the 5 Boroughs, obviously a reference to the five boroughs of New York City.

The similarities between Johnny in the original Karate Kid and Connor in Legends are very obvious, seemingly down to their personalities as well. While introducing a character so similar to one that has been in the series before is a risk, this new sequel is very much trying to emulate the original movie, and after the success of Cobra Kai, which turned a lot of the history of the series on its head, a throwback to the classic story from 1984 sounds like a great breath of fresh air for the franchise.

Connor’s Ponytail Reminds Me Of A Different Karate Kid Villain Entirely

The Character Looks Similar To Another Classic Karate Kid Villain

One aspect of Connor’s design that remained consistent throughout the trailer was his ponytail, which, in and of itself, isn’t really a big deal, as it is a fairly standard aspect of his look. However, in the Karate Kid franchise, the ponytail is the signature look of one of the series’ most iconic villains, Terry Silver. Terry was introduced in The Karate Kid Part III as a friend to John Kreese, who hopes to revive Cobra Kai, ruthlessly training and abusing Daniel, before his champion is ultimately defeated at the All-Valley tournament.

However, Silver played a much more prominent role in Cobra Kai, where he was reintroduced as one of the major antagonists of that show during season 4, and remained one of the major players for the rest of the series. Silver’s ponytail was a big part of his design, enough that it kept being referenced whenever he showed up and committed his villainous acts, and Connor’s similar hairstyle seems to be positioning him in a similar way to Terry Silver from Part III.

Karate Kid: Legends Needs A Great Antagonist After Cobra Kai’s Amazing Villains

Legends Can’t Fall Flat On The Villain Front

While Cobra Kai was initially sold on the return of Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso, eventually, the show brought back nearly all the major cast members from the original Karate Kid movies, including pretty much every major antagonist. By the time the show had really gotten going, the villains were easily some of the best parts, with John Kreese’s return being a major turning point, and Terry Silver immediately reached iconic Karate Kid character status as he became the biggest overarching threat in the series.

With that legacy now built up out of Cobra Kai, Legends will have to follow that up with a new antagonist that is just as entertaining as the ones who came before. If Connor does end up being very similar to Johnny Lawrence, there are still plenty of things that the filmmakers could do to make him stand out as a great villain. Even if Karate Kid: Legends doesn’t include all the classic Cobra Kai characters, it can still uphold the legacy of that show by introducing another great Karate Kid antagonist.