The new Karate Kid is revealed: first photos

Ben Wang will be coached by both Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio.

He is 24 years old, he revealed himself in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese. Ben Wang will be the new Karate Kid of the four-decade-old franchise. A saga that he discovered when he was 10 years old, at the cinema. At the time, it was Jaden Smith who was the Karate Kiddriven by Jackie Chan. “I was the target audience when this movie came out. I was exactly the character's age. The whole film takes place in Beijing, and I had just returned from a year in Beijing. Additionally, I grew up watching movies from Jackie Chan. That's the first time I knew I wanted to be an actor” confides Wang to Entertainment Weekly, who also reveals the first photos.

We find the actor facing Ralph Macchio And Jackie Chanin this new film directed by Jonathan Entwistle.

“Li enters a karate competition to help a friend, but his skills alone are not enough. Li's kung fu teacher, Mr. Han (Chan), calls on the original character of Karate KidDaniel LaRusso (Macchio), to help him, and Li learns a new way of fighting, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.” details the synopsis.

Entwistle confirms that Karate Kid: Legends will take place after the events of Cobra Kaiwhose final season 5 will end in early 2025 on Netflix:

“I'm a big fan of Cobra Kai from the beginning” confirms the director. And that's one of the reasons why I thought it was an exciting project. I was excited by the idea that the films and the series could all be part of one family. I've had very detailed conversations with the Cobra Kai team about interesting things we could do in the movie that could make it all come together. Everything we talked about made it into the film in one way or another, either through Ralph or through our conversations.”

Karate Kid: Legends will be released in cinemas on September 3, 2025 in France.