Kung Fu & Karate Collide In First ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Trailer
Two branches. One tree. Return to Miyagi-do and watch the first trailer for Jonathan Entwistle’s Karate Kid: Legends.
One world meets another, in our first trailer for Karate Kid: Legends, uniting two eras of martial arts in one iconic franchise.
There is no doubt about it, Karate Kid is a pop culture staple. From the highly successful films, to the impressive performing Netflix legacy sequel series, Karate Kid is one of the best examples of how sports media can bring people together. With the new trailer for Karate Kid: Legends, that lesson is apparent more than ever.
The first trailer for Karate Kid: Legends sees Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han travel to the Valley from New York to recruit Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio, the original Karate Kid) to assist him in training a disciple. Outside of this fact, there isn’t too much explanation of the plot, but the trailer does however pride itself in the well-choreographed martial arts present in the film. Watch it below:
The synopsis for the film reads as follows:
In Karate Kid: Legends, after a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. Li struggles to let go of his past as he tries to fit in with his new classmates, and although he doesn’t want to fight, trouble seems to find him everywhere. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren’t enough. Li’s kung fu teacher Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.
The synopsis gives a much clearer idea of the plot in comparison to the trailer. It seems that Karate Kid: Legends flips the 2010 pseudo-reboot on its head. In the 2010 film, Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) is forced to move from Detroit with his mother to China, where he meets Mr Han and learns the craft of kung fu. The idea here seems to invert that, with our lead Li Fong (Ben Wang) being forced out of China and into the United States of America where much of the Karate Kid franchise takes place.
While there is no direct connection to Cobra Kai (the series) beyond Daniel LaRusso and Miyagi-Do, it’s possible that some of the characters will show up to assist Li in becoming a Karate master. Cobra Kai airs the final part of its final season on Netflix on February 13, 2025.
Karate Kid: Legends stars Ben Wang as Li Fong, Jackie Chan as Mr Han, Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso. Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Aramis Knight, and Wyatt Oleff also star in the film in supporting roles. Karate Kid: Legends releases in theatres on May 30, 2025, courtesy of Sony Pictures.
