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Some great TV shows become great not because every single moving part fits together seamlessly, but because they're adept at narrowly avoiding utter disaster. A prime example of this is Garry Marshall's "Happy Days," the seminal 1970s sitcom that featured everyone from future "The Karate Kid" great Pat Morita to future master director and "Arrested Development" narrator Ron Howard. The show had to dodge a terrible original title and make changes that saved it from early cancellation before it even had a chance to fully establish itself -- and as we'll soon discuss, these weren't the only issues that could have felled "Happy Days" early on.

While "Happy Days" was technically about a group of 1950s teenagers transitioning into adulthood and their families, Henry Winkler's uber-cool greaser Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli soon all but hijacked the show, becoming a clear breakout character. Similarly, though the series was well-cast throughout,...

The Karate Kid is an ’80s icon. It was an underdog story which used the burgeoning martial arts movement in the US to capture the fight to survive adolescence and enchant the imagination of a generation.

We love The Karate Kid here on HeyUGuys, and recently looked back at the franchise as it endured through the decades, with sequels, a reboot and a stunningly successful TV show in Cobra Kai. With this year’s release of Karate Kid: Legends the stage has been set for a new generation. Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han teams up with the original Karate Kid Daniel Larusso (a welcome return to the big screen for Ralph Macchio) to blend their distinctive styles to guide Ben Wang’s Li Fong in a combative, coming of age blockbuster.

As the Home Premiere of Karate Kid: Legends has arrived there has never been a better time to dive...

Fans are now able to watch the latest installment in the Karate Kid franchise at home with Karate Kid: Legends releasing on digital July 8. The film both looks forward to the future of martial arts with Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan teaching Ben Wang’s Li Fong, but also looking back as Mr. Han (Chan) seeks out Daniel Larusso (Macchio) to learn Mr. Miyagi’s way of Karate. Mr. Miyagi, Daniel’s original Sensei, has been a legacy presence during the entire run of Cobra Kai, and on into Karate Kid: Legends.

Now Collider is unveiling an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette, Honoring the Miyagi Legacy, with Macchio celebrating the legacy of Pat Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi. Morita passed away in 2005, long before the Netflix spin-off series, Cobra Kai, that brought back Macchio’s Daniel La Russo. In the featurette, Macchio along with Ming-Na Wen, who plays Dr. Fong, reflects on...

Toby Huss may have cemented King of the Hill’s Kahn Souphanousinphone as one of TV’s most iconic animated characters, but Hank Hill’s next-door neighbor almost sounded a whole lot different, according to a new rumor.

On Wednesday, Redditor nogodsnomasters_666 headed to the King of the Hill subreddit with an alleged piece of behind-the-scenes Koth lore, claiming that late Karate Kid legend Pat Morita was originally tapped to take on the role of Arlen’s resident systems analyst.

Kahn/Toby Huss origin story

byu/nogodsnomasters_666 inKingOfTheHill

“Originally Kahn was going to be voiced by Pat Morita (Mr. Myagi),” they recalled of the story they’d heard from “another uncle” during a recent family get-together. “He had auditioned and (a) contract was signed.”

These efforts to bring Morita to Rainey Street were ultimately short-lived, though. After signing, Morita’s agent reached out to King of the Hill’s production...

Tubi is one of the best streaming services, and not just because it's free. Alright, maybe a huge upside is that it's free, but the streamer updates its catalog monthly and it just keeps getting better. Imagine having all of your favorite classic productions in one place and not having to spend any money to stream the episodes back-to-back. It's like having your cake and eating it too! One of the shows on the streamer that has a following of generations of dedicated fans is Murder, She Wrote. The iconic murder mystery has 12 seasons of pure fictional murder-solving goodness, and it's available to stream now on Tubi.

Starring Angela Lansbury, Murder, She Wrote is setin the fictional, small town of Cabot Cove, which seems to have murders everywhere mystery author Jessica Fletcher appears. Fletcher is a highly praised author with best-selling novels who uses her crime-solving abilities to capture suspects...

Ralph Macchio’s Net Worth In 2025 Revealed ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Ralph Macchio, still kicking strong at 63, holds an estimated net worth of $8 million in 2025. And no, it’s not just The Karate Kid nostalgia fueling that figure. Macchio didn’t just ride the wave of his 80s stardom. He turned it into a full-blown second act, one that’s still paying off.

The Og Daniel Larusso didn’t just crane-kick his way into hearts. He turned that underdog role into a long-lasting brand, one that’s stayed relevant across decades, platforms, and generations.

Ralph Macchio Net Worth in 2025

Macchio’s $8 million stack didn’t happen overnight as per Coming Soon. It’s the result of a career that started in the early 80s and hasn’t really slowed down. From The Outsiders to My Cousin Vinny, he’s done drama, comedy, and plenty of fight choreography. That blend of genres gave him staying power.

Keanu Reeves has starred in romances, comedies, monster movies, Shakespeare productions, sci-fi spectaculars, action bonanzas, time travel films, addiction dramas, horror flicks, hengehog adventures, shoot-em-ups, and at least one "SpongeBob" movie. Although he doesn't possess a lot of range as an actor, his personal sense of devotion -- not to mention his relentless decency as a human being -- has fans coming back again and again. He has always seemed interested in variety in his career, equally at peace acting in major blockbusters and tiny low-budget dramas. He has also seemingly valued working with quirky, interesting directors, having acted for the Wachowskis, Ron Howard, Stephen Frears, Kathryn Bigelow, Francis Ford Coppola, Bernardo Bertolucci, Kenneth Branagh, Sam Raimi, Eli Roth, Ana Lily Amirpour, Nicholas Winding Refn, and Alex Winter. 

In the early '90s, Reeves made two films with Gus Van Sant, then considered a new voice on the ever-expanding indie movie scene.

Still Kicking The recently released 'Karate Kid: Legends' marks the sixth feature film installment in the 'Karate Kid' franchise. But this is by no means the sudden rebirth of a dormant property- it’s the latest chapter in a long, winding saga of reboots, remakes, and reimaginings (oh my!) that has been intermittently simmering for decades. In fact, 'Legends' may say less about the enduring popularity of 'The Karate Kid' itself and more about the broader cultural obsession with nostalgia- and how Hollywood continues to exploit it. The 'Karate Kid' franchise has never truly vanished. After the original trilogy centered on Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio)- ‘The Karate Kid' Parts I (1984), II (1986), and III (1989)- there came 'The Next Karate Kid' in 1994. That film attempted to reinvigorate the formula by introducing a new protagonist, Julie Pierce, played by a young Hilary Swank.

As legends of the Karate Kid universe were reprised for streaming and the big screen, one former Mr. Miyagi protégé hasn’t been seen in more than 30 years.

Josh Heald, who co-created Netflix‘s Cobra Kai with Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, revealed that they attempted to get Hilary Swank to reprise her The Next Karate Kid (1994) role as Julie Pierce in the recent sixth and final season.

“We did reach out in the very early days before the season to see if there was a path [for her to appear],” he told Entertainment Weekly. “We had an inkling of an idea about how she could come into this story and not have to commit to 10 episodes or something.

The trio reached out to Swank’s team with “the beginnings of a genesis of an idea” about how Julie could return to the onscreen universe, hoping to “have a discussion with her about it and introduce ourselves.

London, England – May 20: Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan attends the Karate Kid: Legends Photocall at Trafalgar Square. The film will be released only in cinemas from 28 May 2025 on May 20, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Sony Pictures) For more than four decades, the first Karate Kid film has enchanted moviegoers. It starred Ralph Macchio as Daniel Larusso, a humble boy who learns martial arts from the late, legendary, Oscar-nominated Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi. 15 years ago, the franchise saw a beloved reboot, starring the legendary Jackie Chan. Now, over a decade later, we’ve entered a new chapter in the Karate Kid saga with the recently released film in the series, Karate Kid: Legends. This recent film expertly reintroduces these cherished characters, with Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio reprising their renowned roles to the pleasure of Karate Kid fans. These titans...

The creators of Cobra Kairevealed why Hilary Swank never appeared in the show, despite almost every significant character from the Karate Kid films popping up. The Karate Kid franchise spans six movies and one show, with Swank's character, Julie, the protagonist of the fourth film, 1994's The Next Karate Kid. Julie trained under Mr. Miyagi and ultimately served as a replacement for Ralph Macchio's Daniel Larusso, who didn't appear in the movie. As soon as Cobra Kai blew up, fans were wondering if Swank would show up, and it was ultimately a pretty big letdown that she never did.

In a recent interview with EW, Cobra Kai creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg addressed the reason behind Swank's absence from the series, and confirmed that they did, in fact, ask her. They shared that they reached out to Swank's representatives about appearing in Cobra Kai's sixth and final season,...

Cobra Kai was a massive hit and helped put the Karate Kid franchise back in the mainstream. Despite the success, the Cobra Kai creators still have their regrets.

Josh Heald, Jon Huwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg still regret that they couldn't get Hilary Swank to appear on the show. The Oscar-winning star appeared in the 1994 franchise entry The Next Karate Kid, playing Julie Pierce, another student of Pat Morita's Mr Miyagi. The movie received poor reviews and didn't make a lot of money, but die-hard Karate Kid fans still love it. The Cobra Kai team spoke to Entertainment Weekly recently about how they wanted to catch up with Julie, but couldn't.

"We did reach out [to Swank] in the very early days before the season to see if there was a path [for her to appear]," Heald told the outlet. "We had an inkling of an idea about how she could come into this story...

Cobra Kaiseason 6 presented the Sekai Taikai, and here's the origin story of the karate tournament to end all karate tournaments. In Cobra Kai's final season, Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai competed in the Sekai Taikai against other international dojos like the Iron Dragons. Ultimately, Tory Nichols (Peyton List) and Miguel Diaz (Xolo Mariduena) won the girls' and boys' divisions, and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) defeated the Iron Dragons' Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan) to clinch the Cobra Kai dojo as the overall winners of the Sekai Taikai.

At Newport Beach TV Fest's Cobra Kai panel, executive producers Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg were joined by Ralph Macchio, Yuji Okumoto, and Mary Mouser, where Macchio received the Artist of Distinction award from Tamlyn Tomita. During the panel's Q&a, Heald detailed how he and his fellow showrunners conceived Cobra Kai season 6's epic Sekai Taikai tournament. Read Josh's quote below:

We...

Karate Kid: Legends had one job to do: bring the heart of the franchise back. And no, that heart wasn’t Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) showing up for five minutes to awkwardly teach a kid who already knows how to fight to do karate. It was Mr. Miyagi. Or at least a worthy tribute to him. And Sony actually had that… then deleted it. In an Instagram post, actor Shiro Nobunaga revealed that he was cast as Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid: Legends for a flashback scene with Jackie Chan. “I’m excited to share with you my experience to be Mr Miyagi on the new Karate Kid movie (my scene didn’t make the cut),” he wrote. Dressed in the Og khaki outfit from the 1984 classic, Nobunaga filmed a touching moment that would’ve combined makeup, AI face-mapping of Pat Morita, and a voiceover using Morita’s original audio.

Ralph Macchio is happy and satisfied with how Cobra Kai has completed Daniel Larusso's The Karate Kid arc, but he still has one more story about Daniel-san he wants to tell - and direct. Macchio starred in three The Karate Kid movies before reprising Daniel Larusso in Cobra Kai over 30 years later. Macchio returned as Daniel once more in Karate Kid: Legends opposite Jackie Chan and Ben Wang.

Before accepting Newport Beach TV Fest's Artist of Distinction award from his The Karate Kid Part II co-star, Tamlyn Tomita, Ralph Macchio joined the Cobra Kai panel with castmates Mary Mouser and Yuji Okumoto, as well as executive producers Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, and Josh Heald. Macchio revealed he wants to tell Daniel Larusso's origin story before The Karate Kid, and ideally, direct it. Read Ralph's quote below:

If there’s anything, for me, that I wanted to see in the show,...

Creating an antagonist dynamic between two characters whose actors get along behind the scenes is a delicate balance. For Cobra Kai actors Mary Mouser and Peyton List, this was of the utmost importance. When it came to playing Samantha Larusso (Mouser) and Tory Nichols (List) in the hit Netflix series that concluded earlier this year, one half of the duo went to interesting lengths. When talking with Collider's Aidan Kelleyat Newport Beach TV Fest, Mouser says that in order to convincingly present the rivalry between Sam and Tory, Mouser had to create a version of List in her head that was "terrifying." Across the six seasons of the Netflix drama, a follow-up to the Karate Kid movies, Tory and Sam's rivalry was one of the bigger focal points with the drama between the teenage characters. It not only was verbal but oftentimes became physical since both teenagers practiced karate. She...

1984 was one of those landmark years in which cinephiles, film lovers, and people in general were gifted with a collection of films that would become staples of many childhoods and lives from people back then and to this date. Talking about “Ghostbusters,” “Beverly Hills Cops,” “Gremlins,” “Police Academy…” and of course, a little martial arts film directed by Rocky director John G. Avildsen called “The Karate Kid.”

Featuring “Happy Days” star Pat Morita (in an Academy Award-nominated role) and an up-and-coming young actor, Ralph Macchio, as a sensei and his student, respectively, the film was not only anchored by a strong lead performance, but also full of memorable moments that have become part of the cultural zeitgeist. The film became the fifth highest-grossing movie of that year, so Hollywood being Hollywood, it wasn’t a surprise they would keep milking this cow, and so they did.

Without further ado, here...

"Karate Kid: Legends" really likes to tell its audience that it's about two branches of the same tree. In-universe, this refers to the kung-fu that Jackie Chan's Mr. Han teaches and the karate that Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi used to practice. In reality, however, this can also apply to "Karate Kid: Legends" being a tale of two movies at odds with each other. The first movie is a fantastic reconstruction of the "Karate Kid" formula and tropes, with the titular kid becoming a teacher rather than being a student.

It helps that Ben Wang is a really good lead. He portrays his character, Li Fong, as a relatable and charismatic underdog with a painful past that you can't help but root for. And yet, he is not completely defenseless, as for the first time the protagonist of a "Karate Kid" title already has some martial arts knowledge at the start of the story.

It has been 15 years since the release of "The Karate Kid," which was originally a loose remake of the 1984 film of the same name. While the original film starred Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita as the student and the teacher, respectively, the 2010 film starred Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan in the same dynamic. At the time of its release, the 2010 film was nothing more than a modern adaptation of the 1984 coming-of-age classic, borrowing the title while changing the martial arts specialty to Kung Fu and relocating the setting to Beijing, China.

However, while the 2010 "Karate Kid" film remained standalone from the original four entries in the franchise for more than a decade, it was officially incorporated into the canon of the established franchise, with the latest entry, "Karate Kid: Legends." In the new film, we see the return of Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), as well as Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio...

This article contains spoilers for "Karate Kid: Legends."

In 1984, John G. Avildsen's "The Karate Kid" was one of the best family movies around, and for the past 40 years, nothing has been able to keep it down. The series of films revolving around teenagers overcoming the obstacles in their lives through martial arts has somehow managed to evade obscurity by switching up the formula. Even the 2010 reboot starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith ended up being a pretty good movie in its own right. But let's be real. The only reason "The Karate Kid" franchise is still as prominent as it is today is because of "Cobra Kai."

The YouTube Red turned Netflix sensation is quite the anomaly. There were so many ways in which a legacy sequel series to an '80s phenomenon could have gone sour. But "Cobra Kai" struck hard by pushing those tropes to such an...

“Karate Kid: Legends”, the eighth entry in a franchise that counts six movies, Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” and a short-lived 1989 animated series, kicked up about $20 million this weekend. When 2010’s “The Karate Kid” hit theaters, it was considered a remake of the original 1984 film, with Jackie Chan playing karate master Mr. Han — a facsimile of Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) from the first four movies. But now, 15 years later, that movie has been retconned into a sequel, and Chan brought Mr. Han back for “Legends.”

Ralph Macchio, who has appeared in every “Karate Kid” incarnation minus the cartoon and the 2010 film, was excited to work with Chan in spite of initial apprehension.

“I was territorial upon first hearing of [the 2010 movie],” Macchio said during a recent interview with THR. “I didn’t understand what they were going for, and I had walked in the shoes for so long. I just felt, ‘How are...

The weekend sees the release of the sixth Karate Kid film, Karate Kid: Legends. This one tries to string together the continuity of the original 1984 film (and Cobra Kai) with the 2010 reboot led by Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. While I wrote in my review the many reasons I didn’t think it worked, audiences liked it, giving it an A-minus CinemaScore, and an opening north of $20 million.

That’s not bad for a forty one year old franchise, which was brilliantly reinvigorated by the excellent streaming series, Cobra Kai, which took the perspective of not only the hero of the original Karate Kid, Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio), but also the bad guy – Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). It also introduced a whole host of characters that became fan favorites – none of whom show up in Karate Kid: Legends.

So, which of the movies is your favorite? The 1984 original is the obvious choice,...

When "Karate Kid: Legends" was first announced, the prospect of crossing over 1984's "The Karate Kid" with 2010's "The Karate Kid" seemed heavily involved. Leaving aside the popular six-season run of the series that acts as a sequel to the original four films, "Cobra Kai," the idea felt like it could easily run into some problems, due to the 2010 film being developed and shot as a remake rather than a straight sequel or legacy sequel. Still, there existed some wiggle room: none of the characters shared the same names as their 1984 counterparts, and although the structure and situations involved were highly similar, they weren't so exact as to feel like they could only occur once. In essence, "Legends" would simply have to concede that, in the "Karate Kid" universe, it's a fairly common occurrence for single mothers to pack up their lives and their children and move across the country...

Karate Kid: Legends was a real treat for fans of the Cobra Kai and Karate Kid universe. Not only did it merge the Karate Kid film series and bring Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) on-screen together for the first time in history, but the Sony movie also serves as a touching node to the life and legacy of the fictional martial artist who started this lineage, Mr. Miyagi, who was portrayed by the late actor Pat Morita in the first four films.

Whilst the film itself didn’t connect the dots to future projects, the end credits scene may have just teased what’s ahead, and Cobra Kai fans should be thrilled. Karate Kid: Legends is playing in theaters now.

Karate Kid: Legends End-Credit Scene Brings Back A Beloved Character Read full article on The Direct.

Karate Kid 7 Should Bring Back This Fan-Favorite Character (Photo Credit – Netflix)

The eagerly anticipated sixth installment of The Karate Kid franchise, Karate Kid: Legends, has finally hit the big screen. While the sequel holds a modest 57% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s still being praised by fans (current audience score is 88%) and ranks among the top three entries in the immensely popular film series. Now that the latest chapter has arrived, here’s what we believe the makers should consider for a potential next installment —something that could breathe new life into the franchise.

The Next Karate Kid Movie Should Bring Back This Beloved Character

After the first three Karate Kid films starring Ralph Macchio, the fourth installment took a different turn, introducing a new lead alongside Pat Morita. Yes, we’re talking about the inclusion of Hilary Swank, who played Julie Pierce in The Next Karate Kid (1994), for the potential sequel.

This week, the Karate Kid franchise is back in theaters for the first time in 15 years with Karate Kid: Legends. And unlike the 2010 film, this movie is a true continuation of everything that came before it.

Who could have predicted that there would be a new Karate Kid movie over four decades after the original? The 1984 original has withstood the test of time, and it gave Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita two of their most iconic roles as Daniel Larusso and his mentor, Mr. Miyagi.

Although Morita died in 2005, Macchio has kept the flame of The Karate Kid alive in both the sequel series, Cobra Kai, and the newly released Karate Kid: Legends. In honor of that film, we’re ranking the entire Karate Kid franchise, including the two TV shows.

Read: ‘The Karate Kid’ series has more Oscar nominations than you might remember

8. The Karate Kid (1989 Animated Series...

On the heels of Cobra Kai’s 65-episode run, Karate Kid: Legends director Jonathan Entwistle strived to restore the cinematic identity of the beloved franchise.

The British filmmaker — who’s most known for helming idiosyncratic streaming series such as End of the F***ing World and I Am Not Okay With This — designed his feature directorial debut to unite Karate Kid and Cobra Kai fans from every generation. That included those viewers who were raised on Jackie Chan’s 2010 standalone remake of The Karate Kid. To pull off this creative merger, Entwistle and screenwriter Rob Lieber realized that they could utilize the Miyagi family dojo scene from John G. Avildsen’s The Karate Kid Part II (1986) to connect Chan’s story with the Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita-led mothership franchise.

The Part II scene established that 400 years earlier, Mr. Miyagi’s (Morita) ancestor, Shimpo Miyagi, spent some time in...

Stars: Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Aramis Knight, Wyatt Oleff | Written by Rob Lieber, Robert Mark Kamen | Directed by Jonathan Entwistle

Directed by Jonathan Entwistle, Karate Kid: Legends is the sixth film in the popular Karate Kid franchise. Although technically a stand-alone story, it cleverly combines elements from the original movies, the 2010 remake and the Netflix series Cobra Kai. As such, it’s an entertaining, snappily paced action flick that will appeal to fans of the franchise and newcomers alike.

Ben Wang (Disney’s American Born Chinese) stars as teenager Li Fong, who moves from Beijing to New York when his mother (Ming-Na Wen) gets a new job. In doing so, he leaves behind his kung fu tutor Mr Han (Jackie Chan), though he is still traumatised from the death of his older brother, who was stabbed after winning a martial arts tournament.

Once in New York,...

How To Catch Up With The Franchise Before Watching Karate Kid: Legends? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Karate Kid: Legends, the eagerly anticipated sixth installment of The Karate Kid franchise, has finally hit the big screen. If you’re planning to watch it in theatres but haven’t seen all the previous Karate Kid films or the Cobra Kai series, don’t worry — we’ve got you covered! Here is what we think is a quick and efficient way to enjoy the film, even if you are entirely new to the franchise.

The Best Way To Enjoy Karate Kid: Legends

We think it’s not absolutely necessary to watch every Karate Kid movie and all Cobra Kai seasons before Karate Kid: Legends. Start with the 1984 classic, The Karate Kid, to understand Ralph Macchio’s character arc and the legacy of Mr. Miyagi (who was played by Pat Morita). You can skip the...

This post contains spoilers for "Karate Kid: Legends."

When it was first announced that Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan were joining forces for a new "Karate Kid" movie in 2023, the final season of "Cobra Kai" hadn't even finished its closing round. As a result, fans speculated about how the new film that became "Karate Kid: Legends" would integrate into the popular Netflix series, if at all. Would the events of the Sekai Taikai find their way out of Los Angeles and into New York City? Would we see Larusso hard at work training a new class at Miyagi-Do, and would former students end up making surprise appearances as well to give their former sensei the seal of approval for the new Karate Kid, Li Fong (Ben Wang)?

Now that the film is in theaters, fans of the franchise, and most specifically "Cobra Kai," can finally get some clarity on...

The two branches of the Karate Kid series unite in theaters this weekend with a new entry, subtitled Legends. The film sees the original's student, Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio), and the 2010 reboot's teacher, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), teaming up to instruct a young martial artist (played by Ben Wang) in need of guidance.

The reviews for Karate Kid: Legends, however, are not the best around and suggest that the latest movie in the franchise might not be able to crane kick its way to awards season. But previously, the series has had a decorated history, with two Academy Award nominations and nine Emmy noms.

Ahead of Legends, here's a look back at the awards history of the Karate Kid series.

The Karate Kid

Now considered a classic of '80s cinema, the original Karate Kid at the time of its release was an unlikely sleeper hit. The movie never ranked higher than No.

And with the first official post-holiday “Summer cinema” weekend at the multiplex, here comes the return of another beloved movie franchise. Though it doesn’t boast the longest wait between installments, its storied history is one that the Imf might have a tough time sorting through. It’s hard to believe that the initial was over forty years ago. That flick and its two sequels became cable TV staples in the 1980s. Then, a reboot was attempted with one of the stars in 1994 with a “gender switch” for the title lead. Didn’t work, but that didn’t stop a complete remake/reboot 15 years ago, which was a modest hit. Now, after a popular “spin-off” streaming TV, here’s a “re-do” that combines and unites the original trilogy and that 2010 version. With those mixed characters and legacies, it’s no wonder that this one is labeled Karate Kid: Legends.

This...

The 1980s were a veritable Golden Age for fans of The Karate Kid franchise.   Beginning at the height of the Reagan Era with the John G. Avildsen-directed The Karate Kid in 1984, the loosely structured trilogy took Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio), a lifelong underdog and first-time martial artist, and his Japanese-American mentor, Nariyoshi Keisuke Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), into adventures involving life-affirming lessons, occasional romances (for Larusso), and periodic hand-to-elbow-to-foot combat, sometimes in the street, sometimes as part of a local tournaments, for modest amounts of fame and glory.   An audience-friendly formula not dissimilar from another Avildsen film, the Oscar-winning Rocky released almost eight years earlier, The Karate Kid, a box-office hit at the time, naturally led to sequels, one two years later, The Karate...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Ben Wang in ‘Karate Kid: Legends’

In the summer of ’84, movie fans met Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), who showed his new young friend Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) how to use karate to handle bullies in The Karate Kid. Now, over 40 years later, the spirit and legacy of that first film are revived on the big screen in Karate Kid: Legends.

Karate Kid: Legends begins with Mr. Han teaching kung fu to students at his dojo in Beijing. Han lets his nephew Li Fong practice, even though it’s against Li’s mother’s wishes. Looking for a fresh start, Li’s mom (Ming-Na Wen) moves with Li to New York City with a new rule… ”No fighting!”

Li quickly makes friends with Mia, a neighborhood girl whose father, Victor, is an ex-boxer who owns a small but popular pizzeria. Trouble quickly finds Li when Mia’s ex-boyfriend Connor Day spots...

Forty-eight hours after wrapping Cobra Kai in Atlanta, Ralph Macchio was right back where he started on the Montreal-based set of Karate Kid: Legends.

Macchio stepped foot onto Legends’ version of the Mr. Miyagi house that he and Pat Morita made famous four decades earlier in John G. Avildsen’s The Karate Kid (1984). The original house in Canoga Park was demolished after production concluded on 1986’s The Karate Kid Part II, before being rebuilt at Warner Bros. Ranch for 1989’s Part III. Cobra Kai then constructed an iteration of it that evolved across six seasons on its Atlanta-based set.

“It was the weirdest feeling. I literally was at somebody else’s house, but I kind of helped build the house,” Macchio tells The Hollywood Reporter in support of Karate Kid: Legends’ May 30 theatrical release.

In Jonathan Entwistle’s legacy sequel, Macchio’s Daniel Larusso is paid a visit by Jackie Chan’s Mr.

Ralph Macchio wanted to "honour the legacy" of the franchise in 'Karate Kid: Legends'.The 63-year-old actor reprises his role as Daniel Larusso on the big screen in the martial arts franchise for the first time in 36 years and is grateful that the new flick pays homage to the past through the connection between Jackie Chan's character Mr. Han and karate master Mr. Miyagi (played by the late Pat Morita).Ralph told The Hollywood Reporter: "(It) feels authentic and honours the legacy of the entire franchise, and I think we do that."It's another ecosystem in the grand universe. This franchise doesn't know how to not do it right when we care, and I try to always take great care and protect my character, and I like to believe I've done that again."Macchio's appearance in 'Karate Kid: Legends' comes after he returned to the role of Daniel...

The longevity of John G. Avildsen's 1984 sports movie "The Karate Kid" is one of the more baffling phenomenons of my generation. The original flick followed a New Jersey kid named Daniel Larossa (Ralph Macchio) to a new home in dumpy ol' Reseda, California, where he is immediately targeted by a team of karate-enthusiast bullies. They attend a dojo called Cobra Kai, which is treated like a mythically brutal school for potential assassins, when in actuality, was an average building on Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. To defend himself, Daniel falls in with a local karate sensei named Nariyoshi Miyagi (Pat Morita), who teaches him a more thoughtful, contemplative version of karate. The film ends with Daniel besting his bully, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). 

The film was made for only $8 million, but was an explosive hit, raking in over $130 million at the box office. Avildsen seemingly repeated the "underdog triumphs" formula from his "Rocky,...

The first reviews are in for Karate Kid: Legends, the long-awaited sixth theatrical installment in the long-running martial arts franchise. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the movie will be able to live up to the critical heights of the franchise's recently concluded sequel series, Cobra Kai.

With 29 reviews counted at the time of writing, Karate Kid: Legends is currently rotten on Rotten Tomatoes with an approval rating of 55%. After all six seasons of Cobra Kai earned at least an Rt critics' score of 91%, this is a disappointing return to form for the franchise. Of course, it's not entirely surprising considering that the Karate Kid films have struggled to win over critics since the 1984 original, which is the only feature to match the critical reception of Cobra Kai with a 90% approval rating. The Rt critics' scores for the other four films, from best to worst, are 66% (2010's The Karate Kid), 45% (The Karate Kid Part II...

Fans of the original 1984 Karate Kidfilm shouldn't expect the latest installment in the franchise to take up the number one spot during its opening weekend. The movie is expected to go head-to-head with Disney's latest live-action remake.

Per Deadline,Karate Kid: Legends is expected to earn between $25 million and $30 million from 3,600 theaters. However, the $25 million to $30 million range won't be enough for the Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio film to overtake Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch, which is expected to outperform Sony's latest entry in the Karate Kid franchise in its second week in theaters. According to Box Office Mojo,Lilo & Stitch hasearned over $182 million domestically since its theatrical debut.

The live-action Disney remake of 2002's Lilo & Stitchis expected to earn around $60 million in its second weekend in theaters. Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningmade $79 million during the United States' Memorial Day weekend, making for the...

Ahead Of Karate Kid: Legends, Where To Watch All Karate Kid Movies On Ott (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

Karate Kid: Legends, the sixth film of The Karate Kid franchise, is set for its theatrical release on 30th May 2025, including Indian theatres. Interestingly, Ajay Devgn and his son Yug Devgn have done the voiceovers for the Hindi version. Before the eagerly anticipated film hits the big screens, we have got you covered if you are interested in revisiting all or some of the earlier Karate Kid films from the comfort of your home. We have collated the list of all the Karate Kid movies and where you can stream them on Indian Ott platforms. So, here we go.

1. The Karate Kid Release Year – 1984 Streaming On – Netflix, Amazon Prime Video (Sony Pictures Channel), Mx Player IMDb Rating: 7.3/10 Director – John G. Avildsen

Plot: The film follows a teenage boy, Daniel Larusso (played by...

Fun fact: Original Karate Kid and Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio is now older than Pat Morita was when he last played Mr Miyagi (1994’s The Next Karate Kid). Meanwhile, the Karate Kid remake’s Miyagi-surrogate Jackie Chan (aka Mr Han) is now only two years younger than Morita was when he passed away in 2005. Age has been super-kind to both, but given this long-running franchise has always focused on its youthful protagonists, it should really come as no surprise that, despite their prominence on the poster and the enticing promise of a remake universe/Cobra Kai crossover, much of this instalment’s run-time is devoted to complete newcomer Ben Wang.

He’s a likeable-enough presence in a wholesome drama that hits most of the same montage-peppered beats as the 1984 original and the 2010 Chan-starring version. Kid moves to new town/country. Kid meets girl. Kid encounters martial-arts bullies. Kid trains...

Because it’s the sixth installment of a 40-year-old franchise, you might assume that “Karate Kid: Legends” is going to retrofit the formula, filtering it through the sort of technologically empowered overkill that defines most latter-day sequels. There’s one explicit way that the movie updates the series. The hero, Li Fong (Ben Wang), is a teenager who’s been training at the Beijing dojo of shifu Han (Jackie Chan), where he has mastered a kung fu move called the dragon kick, a corkscrew balletic twirl that climaxes with a foot-smash to the head of your opponent — a move captured, in all its complex gymnastic glory, through rapid-fire cutting and slo-mo. It’s the film’s one concession to the four decades of Asian action cinema that have taken place since the original “Karate Kid,” and it’s designed to give you that “This is not your father’s Ralph Macchio fairy tale!

Sometimes it feels like “Karate Kid: Legends” is fighting with one hand tied behind its back.

It knows the kind of movie it wants to be, which is a film in the vein of the previous “Karate Kid” stories — including the TV series “Cobra Kai” — where a bullied teenager sorts out his personal issues with the help of a kindly mentor and no shortage of martial arts training montages. It’s a formula that may not be the kind of spectacle-drenched premise that studios now demand from their franchise plays, but it’s one that works regardless of its setting.

But it looks like Sony didn’t want a straight “Karate Kid” reboot this time (2010’s movie only made $359 million worldwide off a $40 million budget so I guess that’s unacceptable) and preferred the comfort of some familiar faces. That makes “Karate Kid: Legends” a movie that understands its identity...

In the pantheon of unnecessary legacy sequels — distant continuations that dig up decades of history to occasionally transcendent but mostly exasperating effect — it’s hard to come up with a film that gains less from its connections to the work it’s tied to than “Karate Kid: Legends.” Partly, there’s a deep sense of redundancy: the iconic ’80s “Karate Kid” martial arts franchise has already been the subject of a six-season sequel series “Cobra Kai” that just concluded a mere three months ago, which had flaws but nonetheless inspired affection for its cheeky reverence to the cheesy charms of the 1984 original film.

But more importantly, “The Karate Kid,” for as much as it reigns supreme as one of the most famous sports/martial arts films of its time, is an exceedingly simple story about a boy, his mentor, the girl he has a crush on, and the bully whose ass he kicks.

Take a dose of the original Karate Kid tetralogy, add some elements from the 2010 remake, finish it off with a soupçon of the Netflix series Cobra Kai, and you have the Frankenstein’s monster of a franchise continuation that is Karate Kid: Legends. While no one could begrudge the seemingly ageless Ralph Macchio and beloved action star Jackie Chan the opportunity to reprise their roles of Daniel Larusso and Mr. Han, respectively, this latest addition to an apparently unkillable franchise adds nothing original to the formula. It’s a formula that works, to be sure, making for a pleasant enough time filler. But that’s about it.

With Daniel and Mr. Han relegated to the outskirts of the story for long stretches before the final act, the Jonathan Entwistle-directed film mainly revolves around Li Fong (a very appealing Ben Wang, American Born Chinese), a young kung fu prodigy still...

Are you excited about Karate Kid: Legends? Well! So are we. But before all the anticipation, actor Ralph Macchio has got a message that might ruffle a few feathers. He added that the upcoming movie isn’t just another chapter in the franchise; in fact, it’s a movie with a mission.

This is especially true for those who are pretending to be a fan without watching the 1984 original. If that’s you, brace yourself, as this movie might just call you out without saying a word. Let’s dive deeper into how the new movie has a unique connection with the old one.

According to Ralph Macchio, Karate Kid: Legends would be an ultimate test for true fans

Ralph Macchio is back as the iconic Daniel Larusso in The Karate Kid: Legends, and he’s got a clear message. He openly says that if you haven’t watched the original 1984 movie,...

The Karate Kid quickly became a global phenomenon when it hit screens in 1984. But without the unique teaching style of Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi, Daniel Larusso's story would probably not have had such a massive impact on pop culture.

Speaking to GamesRadar+, Macchio, who reprises his role as Daniel Larusso in Karate Kid: Legends, hopes that the film will lead new fans back to the original story. "The beauty of it all in this movie is we're going to have, hopefully, a lot of young fans for the first time seeing their version of The Karate Kid for today's generation, and yet come out of it knowing a little bit about who Mr. Miyagi was," he explained.

Although the actor hopes that viewers will be compelled to check out "the original film from 1984" and keep "that legacy moving forward." Macchio says the newest entry in the franchise also works as a standalone story.

Nowadays, with outlets like Netflix, Hulu and whatever HBO is called this week, comedians who tell dirty jokes can do the exact same thing on sitcoms or animated shows. But before the arrival of streaming and premium cable, a stand-up comic who predominantly worked blue had no place on TV. That is, unless they could play by network TV’s rules, which was no sure thing. The Richard Pryor Show, for example, lasted just four episodes.

There were, however, some comedians who managed to hold off on the f-bombs and make a killing on TV. Here are five of them…

1 Bob Saget Play

Who would have thought that the guy who joked about his mom being a sex worker and his wife being a seven-year-old girl would become one of the sweetest dads in TV history? Saget first shocked audiences with his wildly raunchy stand-up act, and then again by...

Karate Kid fans will soon be able to get their hands on a unique popcorn bucket made to celebrate the latest installment of the franchise. Karate Kid: Legends hits theaters on May 30.

In a video shared on X by DiscussingFilm, the Karate Kid popcorn bucket looks like a pretty typical popcorn container at first glance -- but it actually is adorned with a martial arts break board at the top, which is motion activated and opens up when karate chopping it. The clever design beautifully captures the essence of the martial arts films, making it the perfect souvenir for those who will be catching the new Jackie Chan movie when it premieres later this week.

Karate Kid: Legends will see Chan and Ralph Macchio both reprising their roles from earlier films in the franchise. It will also introduce Ben Wang as a new main lead along with other supporting actors,...

People love a good underdog story, and The Karate Kid is an indisputable classic in this genre. Even before Cobra Kai reinvigorated the franchise, it was a stone-cold classic. When it came out in 1984, it became the biggest sleeper hit of the year, earning an astounding $100 million on a mere $8 million budget. It made its star, Ralph Macchio, one of the biggest heartthrobs of the eighties, and Pat Morita, a standup comedian, earned an Oscar nomination for his iconic role as Mr. Miyagi. The film was directed by John G. Avildsen, who also directed the original Rocky, and certainly knew a thing or two about making a classic underdog, feel-good movie.

Yet, what’s most astounding about the film is how well it’s held up over the years, and how much its legacy has endured. Sure, there were the sequels, with the second just as big of a hit...