With the success of “Cobra Kai,” Ralph Macchio is looking to keep “The Karate Kid” franchise alive with a movie featuring him and martial arts legend Jackie Chan.
Macchio will reprise his role as Daniel LaRusso while Chan will bring back Dr. Han from the 2010 remake of the original 1984 movie. Chan’s character was based on Mr. Miyagi from the first three movies. Chan, 69, and Macchio, 62, on YouTube Tuesday announced a global casting search for the next Karate Kid.
The movie will not include the creators of “Cobra Kai,” which airs on Netflix and has been a huge hit for the streaming service. That series, which features Macchio as a middle-aged LaRusso, is about to start production in metro Atlanta for its sixth and final season now that the actors strike has concluded.
Rob Lieber (”Peter Rabbit”) will write the screenplay, and Jonathan Entwistle (”I Am Not Okay With This”) will direct.
The movie is tentatively scheduled to hit theaters in December 2024.
It’s unclear where the new movie will be shot, though Atlanta is certainly a strong candidate given the state’s strong tax credit system and the fact that “Cobra Kai” is shot here. And how the plotlines of “Cobra Kai” will co-exist with the new movie is also unknown at this juncture.
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