With Jackie Chan’s 2010 then-remake of The Karate Kid now folded into the main continuity, the movie can be used to give a canonical explanation for why something was missing from Cobra Kai season 6’s biggest storyline. As the most recent of all the Karate Kid movies, Chan’s effort will now serve as a prequel when the upcoming legacy sequel Karate Kid: Legends is released on May 30, 2025. Of course, Cobra Kai aired during that period too, but Chan’s shock return to the role of Mr. Han comes in the franchise’s first feature-length production for 15 years.
Although he’ll be a prominent figure in the Karate Kid: Legends cast, Chan will be sharing the spotlight with franchise star Ralph Macchio, who will have only just stepped away from Cobra Kai due to it concluding after six seasons. So, although Daniel LaRusso meeting Mr. Han may once have been canonically incoherent, those steering the franchise in its new direction have decided such a team-up is just what the saga needs after Cobra Kai‘s finale. As such, all the lore in Chan’s 2010 effort is now relevant when discussing the rest of the Miyagi-verse.
Why The Fighting Dragons From 2010’s Karate Kid Didn’t Make The Sekai Taikai In Cobra Kai
The dojo from Chan’s movie didn’t compete in Cobra Kai
The Cobra Kai dojo has a direct counterpart in Chan’s 2010 movie, and the group is known as the Fighting Dragons. With the remake being integrated into the franchise’s main timeline, it feels like a wasted opportunity not to have the Fighting Dragons compete in Cobra Kai season 6’s Sekai Taikai tournament, now that it’s possible from a canonical perspective. However, there’s a very simple explanation. In short, 2010’s The Karate Kid remake made the surprising choice for Kung-Fu to be the central martial art, so the Fighting Dragons competing in a karate tournament would be a bit strange.
It’s been made clear by the Karate Kid: Legends writers that they want the movie to remain isolated from Cobra Kai, which would also explain why the Fighting Dragons don’t show up in the sequel show.
That being said, the Karate Kid: Legends trailer has already noted the similarities between Karate and Kung-Fu, by artfully including a new line of dialogue: “Two branches, one tree.” So, Cobra Kai could have bent the rules a little if it really wanted to bring the Fighting Dragons back into the story. For another in-universe explanation, it could also be that the Fighting Dragons just weren’t good enough to make the cut for Cobra Kai season 6’s Sekai Taikai. Spots in the tournament aren’t just given to dojos for existing – they need to be earned.
Up Until Karate Kid: Legends, The 2010 Karate Kid Movie Wasn’t Really Canon To Cobra Kai
Mr. Han has been retroactively granted access to the larger franchise
The reason Jackie Chan’s franchise comeback was so surprising was because of the meta implications of two universes becoming one. 2010’s The Karate Kid was only ever supposed to be a remake of the 1984 original. Other than character names and the setting being altered, the 2010 project was quite clearly a beat-for-beat recreation of the first installment in the franchise. So, it being added to the main canon has resulted in the rest of the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai timeline bending around Jackie Chan’s movie to accommodate it, which has led to some weird quirks.
Therefore, although the once-remake can now be involved far more relevantly in conversations about the other movies and Cobra Kai, this is a very recent development. In other words, trying to make too much sense of why Mr. Han’s story hasn’t intersected with Daniel’s sooner is likely to lead to quite a lot of inconsistencies. Unfortunately, that’s just the way things are, but it’s still exciting that 2010’s The Karate Kid has been retroactively made part of Cobra Kai‘s canon.
