The Karate Kid franchise made a mistake 39 years ago, but Karate Kid: Legends has the perfect opportunity to finally fix things with its Johnny Lawrence replacement. Serving as the sixth movie and the seventh installment in the overarching Karate Kid franchise, Karate Kid: Legends is bound to bring something new to the table. From what is known about the movie, it is featuring a never-seen-before collaboration between two of the franchise’s greatest senseis, Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Han.
Even the movie’s main character, Li Fong, will be significantly different from most other young characters in the franchise because of his background in martial arts. He will hone his skills with Daniel and Mr. Han’s help, but his years of experience with kung fu will also come in handy. With one story change, Karate Kid: Legends can also rectify the first Karate Kid movie’s biggest mistake and further establish itself as a unique addition to the movie series.
Karate Kid: Legends Can Do With Connor What The Original Movies Failed To Do With Johnny
Connor Can Be More Than A One-Off Villain
The first Karate Kid movie had the opportunity to add more layers to Johnny. However, even towards the end of the film, he barely rose above his antagonistic role. Although the movie tried to make viewers empathize with him by showing how Kreese treated him, many aspects of Johnny’s story that would have added more dimensions to him remained unexplored. Although Karate Kid: Legends seemingly shares many similarities with the original Karate Kid movies, it does not have to tread the same path as them with its portrayal of its villain, Connor.
Instead of featuring him as a one-off antagonist, the movie can learn from Cobra Kai and portray him as a morally complex character like Robby or Hawk. Even the original Karate Kid movies could have pulled off something similar by marking Johnny’s return in the second film. Unfortunately, he was ignored until Cobra Kai decided to continue his story. Karate Kid: Legends could initially set up Connor as its main antagonist. However, its follow-ups could gradually make him go through a rite of pᴀssage where he, like Johnny, could reform himself before it is too late.
Karate Kid: Legends’ Connor Can Be A More Complex Character Than Karate Kid 1 Johnny
Johnny Remained A One-Dimensional Villain In The First Karate Kid
Johnny was portrayed as the typical ’80s bully who deserved his defeat towards the end of the first Karate Kid movie. The film attempted to give viewers a glimpse of his vulnerable side towards the end by showing how he hands Daniel the All-Valley trophy and tells him that he is “alright.” However, that was not enough to capture all the struggles Johnny had been through before he picked up karate and became a victim of Kreese’s toxic teachings.
Anti-hero characters in Cobra Kai, like Hawk and Robby, got much deeper narratives where the show highlighted why they walked down the morally questionable path and even gave them the redemption they deserved. Karate Kid: Legends can also use the same recipe and explicitly show everything from Connor’s underlying motives and backstory. With this, the movie could finally fix the first Karate Kid‘s Johnny Lawrence mistake and even establish itself as one of the better additions to the overarching franchise.
