Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan join forces for a new The Karate Kid movie under Sony’s banner. The production of the film began in April 2024 and Macchio has some great things to say about his co-star Chan. Macchio shared that working with the legendary actor was a great opportunity and added that Chan worked on the film every day like it was his first day.
Macchio and Chan earlier came together to kickstart a global casting search for the young actors. Youngster Ben Wang will play the role of the new ‘karate kid’ Li Fong in the film. Jonathan Entwistle of I’m Not Okay with This and The End of the F***ing World fame will helm the film in his feature directorial debut. The film is penned by Rob Lieber.
Ralph Macchio Says Jackie Chan Is Excited To Be On The Karate Kid Set Like It’s His First Day
Ralph Macchio played the young prodigy in the first film in the franchise, The Karate Kid, in 1984. The film spawned three sequels, two of them starring Macchio, a reboot with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, and the Netflix series Cobra Kai where Macchio reprised his role. Macchio and Chan were confirmed to return to a new film, that was in discussion at Sony for a long time.
Macchio and the Rumble in the Bronx star are currently engaged in filming and The Deuce actor has a lot to say about working with the one and only Chan. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Macchio shared that he found the opportunity of working with the legend to be exciting. He shared that the veteran actor carried a lot of heart, soul, and compassion.
He shared that he wanted to be like the actor when he reached that point in his career. He also added that the new film had an incredible young cast. Macchio shared with THR:
Jackie Chan is a legend, just to have that opportunity was exciting. He was wonderful. Lot of heart, lot of soul and caring, I will say that about Jackie. He loves being on set and it was like his first day every day. I love seeing that at his age and time of his career because I like to try to bring that as well, but a great young cast on that one, and we’ll see where it goes.
The film was supposed to come out later this year, however, the delay in production of Cobra Kai Season 6 forced Sony to push the film to 2025. Cobra Kai showrunners revealed to THR that they had talked to Jonathan Entwistle and The Karate Kid team. Jon Hurwitz, one of the showrunners shared that Macchio had kept them in the loop about the film.
Hurwitz also shared that they had already conveyed to the film’s crew about the ending of the series so that they could plan the film from there on. Fans speculate that the LaRusso family will move away from the Valley after Season 6. They would probably relocate to LaRusso’s childhood home in New Jersey, where he would encounter Chan’s Mr. Han.
Jackie Chan’s Excitement For The Film Proves That He Is A Legend
Jackie Chan teaming up with Ralph Macchio was all the Karate Kid fans needed to get superhyped about the new film. Chan’s 2010 film is generally considered to be an underwhelming output in the franchise. Nevertheless, the actor’s enthusiasm during filming is a promising update about the film. At 70, the actor shows no sign of slowing down and fans would love to see him in more projects.
Chan earlier shared that he wanted to find a worthy successor, but the current industry standards prove a major challenge in that aspect. The actor shared with tears in an interview that actors with all the martial arts skills in the world face significant barriers to becoming actors (via 8days).
He shared that big studios hesitate to invest 50 to 60 million yuan (approximately $7 million to $9 million US dollars) in such actors. The Karate Kid has found actor Ben Wang as the new child prodigy in the upcoming film.
The sixth season of Cobra Kai is now available for streaming on Netflix. The first three Karate Kid movies are available on Starz. The Karate Kid (2010) is now available for streaming on Netflix.
