After not appearing in any of Cobra Kai’s final episodes, many fans thought that a major character from the franchise would have a cameo in Karate Kid: Legends. Unfortunately, this didn’t end up being the case. The cast of Karate Kid: Legends includes Jackie Chan, who starred in the 2010 reboot film, Ralph Macchio, who was the original karate kid, and even features a major Cobra Kai cameo. However, despite these inclusions, the newest film in the franchise mostly focuses on a brand-new character, Li Fong.

In Karate Kid: Legends, Ben Wang plays Li Fong, a high school student who moves from Beijing to New York and ends up joining a karate tournament. Since its release, reviews for Karate Kid: Legends have been somewhat mixed, but Screen Rant’s own Mae Abdulbaki gave it a 7 out of 10 and claimed that the film proves the franchise still has a lot of potential. Even though it arguably begins a new era for the franchise, I was still hoping Karate Kid: Legends would include Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce, who hasn’t appeared since 1994’s The Next Karate Kid.

Hilary Swank Does Not Appear In Karate Kid: Legends

Swank’s Character Isn’t Even Mentioned In Karate Kid: Legends

Leading up to the release of Karate Kid: Legends, many fans thought that Swank’s Julie Pierce may appear in the film. Her inclusion wouldn’t have been out of place since the movie also includes Chan and Macchio. Even though Chan’s Mr. Han and Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso are more popular characters in the franchise, Julie Pierce could still arguably be considered a “legend” since she was the main character in the fourth Karate Kid movie.

Karate Kid: Legends is a movie that honors Mr. Miyagi, who taught both Daniel and Julia. While Mr. Han refers to Daniel as Mr. Miyagi’s greatest student in the film, there is no mention of Julie. This is not entirely surprising, since The Next Karate Kid is the second lowest-rated movie in the franchise. However, it’s disappointing that the series continues to ignore Swank’s character.

Hilary Swank Has Yet To Return To The Karate Kid Franchise Since Cobra Kai

Swank Didn’t Want To Appear In Cobra Kai

Before the release of Karate Kid: Legends, fans also hoped that Swank might reprise her role as Julie Pierce in Cobra Kai. Even though The Next Karate Kid was received poorly, Cobra Kai was a critically acclaimed series and potentially could have given Swank’s character a great storyline. Despite this, Swank was clearly not interested in appearing in Cobra Kai. After the final episodes of the series premiered on Netflix, co-creator Jon Hurwitz revealed that they tried to get Hilary Swank in Cobra Kai season 6. He said:

It wasn’t for lack of trying. We always loved the idea of Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce showing up in Cobra Kai’s final episodes, but it wasn’t meant to be. We spoke with her reps several times, but never actually had the opportunity to speak directly with her. At the end of the day, she wasn’t interested in engaging at this time. We respect her wishes and remain huge fans. For what it’s worth, I’m a firm believer that these things happen or don’t happen for a reason. Perhaps one day she’ll return to the Miyagiverse.

Even though she didn’t appear in Cobra Kai, a lot of fans still had hope that Swank might be more tempted by Karate Kid: Legends, which is the first movie in the franchise in 15 years. It’s unknown whether the creative team behind Legends wanted Swank to appear, but she unfortunately doesn’t have a cameo in the movie. Therefore, it’s safe to ᴀssume that Julie Pierce was never considered to be included in Karate Kid: Legends, or that Swank simply just doesn’t want to ever return to the franchise.

It’s Annoying That The Karate Kid Franchise Has Yet To Acknowledge Julie Pierce

Nothing Is Known About Julie Pierce Post-The Next Karate Kid

Based on Hurwitz’s comments, it seems like it was Swank’s decision not to appear in Cobra Kai, but it’s still a shame that the franchise hasn’t acknowledged Julie Pierce since The Next Karate Kid. Even if Swank isn’t interested in returning, Cobra Kai or Karate Kid: Legends could have included a line about what Julie may be up to. Instead, the Netflix series and the new movie both act like Julie doesn’t exist in the Karate Kid universe.

This is a shame, especially since so many other characters from the original movies have reprised their roles. From what we have seen, Julie was Mr. Miyagi’s second most important student, only behind Daniel. Therefore, even if The Next Karate Kid received poor reviews, Julie still deserves to be acknowledged. Because of this, I’m disappointed that Karate Kid: Legends doesn’t at least include a reference to Swank’s character and The Next Karate Kid.