With Martin Kove’s Sensei John Kreese meeting his end in Cobra Kai‘s final season, 2025’s Karate Kid: Legends has an interesting decision to make. As one of the longest-running and best villains in the entire Karate Kid franchise, Sensei Kreese has influenced the saga for decades. However, his death near the end of Cobra Kai‘s final season marks the first time it isn’t possible for him to return for an upcoming project. Although the nature of Kreese’s exit in his fight with Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) was very fitting for his character, the absence of Kove’s character impacts Legends.
Karate Kid: Legends is set for a theatrical release on May 30, 2025. Although set in the same canon as all the other Karate Kid movies and every season of Cobra Kai, it will be a self-contained story that only softly references the franchise’s previous events. The biggest stars from the decades-long saga are Ralph Macchio, who is returning as Daniel LaRusso, and Jackie Chan for his surprising reprisal of Mr. Han from 2010’s Karate Kid then-remake. However, the most focus will be on Ben Wang’s Li Fong, who’ll be stepping in as the movie’s new тιтle character.
Kreese’s Death Means Karate Kid Has Lost Its Most Important Villain
Martin Kove now can’t appear in the upcoming legacy sequel
Kreese has long haunted the Karate Kid franchise as one of its most vital antagonists. Although he has often been pulling the strings from the sidelines, he grew into a more active villain in later appearances – especially in Cobra Kai. The Netflix sequel show even fleshed out his backstory and humanized him, making him relatable rather than just stone-cold evil. Now, he can’t come back and continue his villainy in Karate Kid: Legends after his explosive death scene in Cobra Kai season 6.
Of course, it is always possible that Kreese’s death was just a deception, and that Legends could reveal he actually escaped the blaze on the boat. However, I think that’s unlikely for a number of reasons. For instance, Kreese’s surprise comeback would not only distract from the franchise’s next chapter, but also rely on knowledge of Cobra Kai‘s events – which is what Legends is trying to avoid. So, it’s just cleaner and more logical to leave Kreese ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, even though it’s a mᴀssive shame to do so.
Karate Kid: Legends Needs A Villain That Can Live Up To Kreese
Sensei Kreese needs to be suitably replaced
The Karate Kid franchise thrives on the strength of its bad guys, and Kreese was one of the best. He has long set the standard for what a villain within the saga should be like. So, even though he can’t appear in Legends, the 2025 movie can at least use the character’s rich lore to help shape his replacement in the upcoming legacy sequel. If the movie lacks an antagonist as compelling as Kreese, the story will surely struggle to make as much of an impact.
It won’t be an easy task to achieve, but that doesn’t mean Legends should avoid making a spirited attempt.
Unfortunately, the fact Kreese’s character has been built up over decades rather than in a single movie poses a difficult challenge for Legends. That being said, it’s not impossible that, given the right actor and a great script, a new villain could step in and fill the sizable hole left behind by Kove’s character. It won’t be an easy task to achieve, but that doesn’t mean Legends should avoid making a spirited attempt.
Will Karate Kid: Legends Give The Franchise Its New John Kreese?
No true successor to Kreese has yet been revealed
At the moment, the only real bad guy in Karate Kid: Legends would appear to be Li Fong’s rival, as the movie is following the general outline of the original 1984 movie and its 2010 successor. So, Legends has a Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) replacement, but there doesn’t yet seem to be a new Kreese-esque character. In other words, it depends if the 2025 movie is going to introduce the sensei of Li Fong’s martial arts rival, or whether Legends will avoid introducing a new John Kreese.
Because Daniel’s sensei, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), also had a good dynamic with Johnny’s teacher, it would make sense for a new Keese-esque villain to feature as part of Legends so the movie can more closely follow previous efforts – which seems to be the goal. That way, Daniel and Mr. Han can have another role beyond just training their new student. It wouldn’t be vital, especially if Daniel and Mr. Han are set to be secondary characters in Karate Kid: Legends, but it would replace Kreese after his death in Cobra Kai.
