Karate Kid: Legends Director Clarifies Whether Jaden Smith's Character Is Still Canon In The Combined Universe

The following contains spoilers for the Karate Kid: Legends ending.Karate Kid: Legends director Jonathan Entwistle reveals if Jaden Smith’s Dre Parker is still canon in the universe. Smith was introduced as the protagonist in the fifth installment, The Karate Kid, in 2010, which followed Dre as he moved to China with his mother. In the previous movie, Dre was trained by Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who returns in the sixth and latest installment starring Ben Wang as Li Fong, Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, Sadie Stanley as Mia, and Joshua Jackson as Victor.

In an interview with Inverse, Entwistle addressed whether Smith’s character is still canon in the universe. The director confirmed that Dre “does exist” in the sixth installment, though not in direct reference to Li Fong. He further teased that Dre could be “a reference to a chapter of Mr. Han’s story.” Read his comment below:

He does exist. I think he still is. Absolutely, the character is still canon, but he’s no real reference to Li Fong. He’s no real reference to this particular chapter. It’s not to say that he’s not a reference to a chapter of Mr. Han’s story, that’s for sure.

What Jonathan Entwistle’s Comment Means For Karate Kid: Legends

Karate Kid: Legends Doesn’t Break Existing Canons In The Universe

Karate Kid: Legends acts as a soft reboot for the franchise with the introduction of Li and the return of original stars Macchio and Chan from the 2010 movie. Entwistle’s comment indicates that while Dre’s story still stands within the Karate Kid universe, the character doesn’t have a direct connection with the 2025 movie. Dre doesn’t appear in the latest entry, but the director did leave the door open for other possibilities.

Entwistle’s comment also sheds some light on how the characters are connected in the franchise. In the same interview, the director explains that each chapter of the Karate Kid movies is about finding families and mentorship. In this movie, they are able to bring Mr. Han and Daniel together through training, who also helps train Victor. While Dre might not be linked to this specific chapter, his existence in the universe means that the franchise might be able to revisit his story in the future, like how the Cobra Kai series revisited Johnny Lawrence’s (William Zabka) whereabouts.

Our Take On Dre Parker’s Future In Karate Kid: Legends

Dre Could Return To Karate Kid If Things Align

Jackie Chan as Mr. Han and Jaden Smith as Dre Parker training above the Great Wall of China in The Karate Kid 2010

Karate Kid: Legends comes out 15 years after the fifth installment in 2010, taking place three years after the events in Netflix’s series Cobra Kai. Given that the movie takes place in New York City, revolving around the Five Boroughs Tournament, in which Li entered as a candidate, it makes sense why Dre isn’t part of the film.

However, the way Karate Kid: Legends‘ ending sets up a potential sequel could further see the characters interacting with each other. Daniel returns to his home base in Los Angeles and Mr. Han goes back to Beijing, but not without expressing interest in helping Victor expand his business in China. This could mean that if things align beautifully (on and off-screen), audiences might be able to see Dre return to the Karate Kid franchise one day.

Source: Inverse