The Next Karate Kid did not feature Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, leading many to wonder where the actor and character were. Often considered the worst of the Karate Kid movies, The Next Karate Kid focused on a different main star than Macchio. Hilary Swank took over the role, marking the first absence in the series for Daniel LaRusso, who later returned as part of Cobra Kai‘s ensemble cast.
For the actor, Macchio did not return as he simply was not asked to. Despite Pat Morita’s wise and inspiring Mr. Miyagi being part of the spin-off, Macchio revealed to Uproxx that he did not get a call to return for the 1994 film, likely as a result of the original creators, Robert Mark Kamen and John G. Avildsen, not being involved. While Macchio will return in the upcoming story of Karate Kid: Legends, many are wondering if there is a narrative reason for his character, Daniel LaRusso, being absent from The Next Karate Kid.
Daniel LaRusso Was No Longer Living With Mr. Miyagi In The Next Karate Kid
Daniel Had Moved On With His Own Life
At the beginning of The Next Karate Kid, some hints about Daniel LaRusso’s whereabouts are provided. In The Karate Kid Part III, Daniel is shown living with Mr. Miyagi for a while during his conflict with Terry Silver, Cobra Kai, and Mike Barnes. The film ends with Daniel winning the All-Valley Tournament once more, yet The Next Karate Kid changes his living situation. At the beginning of the movie, Daniel is no longer living with Mr. Miyagi. This leads Miyagi to Boston, where he trains Swank’s Julie Pierce as the тιтular successor to Daniel.
Miyagi also references his time living with Daniel in the past tense during the film, confirming the two have moved on from their prior living arrangements.
Although the reason for Daniel’s absence from Miyagi’s house is not outlined, it can be inferred based on other stories in the series. Initially, there were many ᴀssumptions and theories about where Daniel was in The Next Karate Kid, which have also been proven to be false. Naturally, this caused more confusion about where exactly Daniel was, leaving other stories like Cobra Kai to provide retroactive reasons for Miyagi training someone besides Macchio’s character in The Next Karate Kid.
Daniel LaRusso Was Not In College During The Next Karate Kid
A Big ᴀssumption Was Proved Wrong By Cobra Kai
As alluded to, many audience members created their own headcanon as to why Daniel LaRusso was not part of Mr. Miyagi’s life during The Next Karate Kid. Given the age of Daniel throughout the original trilogy, one of the most popular theories was that Daniel went off to college. This would explain why he was not in The Next Karate Kid and why he was not living with Miyagi at the onset of the movie. However, this theory was proven wrong thanks to Daniel’s involvement in Cobra Kai.
In Cobra Kai, it was revealed that Daniel LaRusso never went to college. This actually makes sense given the events of The Karate Kid Part III. In that film, Daniel uses his college fund to open a bonsai store for Mr. Miyagi. In Cobra Kai, Daniel reveals to Miguel that he did not ever return to college, even though his financial situation improved after the third movie. With college confirmed not to be a part of Daniel’s life, more mystery was thrown over his absence from The Next Karate Kid.
What Happened To Daniel Between The Karate Kid Part III And Cobra Kai
Despite the secretive nature of Daniel LaRusso’s life during the events of The Next Karate Kid, Cobra Kai fills in the blanks. The show takes place over 30 years after the original trilogy and features many references to Daniel’s life in the interim between The Karate Kid Part III and Cobra Kai. It is revealed that Daniel tried to restart the bonsai shop but that this failed, potentially even explaining why Miyagi briefly moved to Boston during The Next Karate Kid. Eventually, Daniel met the cousin of Jessica from The Karate Kid Part III, Amanda, and began to date her.
As revealed in Cobra Kai, Daniel and Amanda got married at some point after they began dating. The two opened up a car dealership after Daniel found success working on cars due to his love of mechanics. The car dealership became one of the most successful in the valley, resulting in a comfortable financial life for the LaRussos.
The birth and training of Samantha and Anthony led directly into the events of the show’s first season, in which Daniel reignites his rivalry with Johnny Lawrence…
Cobra Kai also confirms Daniel and Amanda had two children, Samantha and Anthony. These two characters are prominent figures in Cobra Kai‘s story as the next generation of karate champions. The birth and training of Samantha and Anthony led directly into the events of the show’s first season, in which Daniel reignites his rivalry with Johnny Lawrence after the latter opens another Cobra Kai dojo. All of this explains the mystery of what happened in Daniel’s life during and after The Next Karate Kid, explaining his absence from the movie.
