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Posted in: Casting, Movies | Tagged: Ben Wang, jackie chan, karate kid, Ralph Macchio
Karate Kid: New Lead Found In American Born Chinese Actor Ben Wang
The new Karate Kid film with Ralph Macchio and Jakcie Chan has found its lead in American Born Chinese actor Ben Wang.
Article Summary
- American Born Chinese actor Ben Wang lands the lead in the new Karate Kid film.
- Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan to reprise their roles; Jonathan Entwistle to direct.
- The film plans to merge the original and rebooted Karate Kid universes together.
- Mark your calendars: the movie is set for a theatrical release on December 13th.
Karate Kid has been cast. American Born Chinese actor Ben Wang has been given the lead in the new entry in the franchise, slated to come out December 13th. Announced last year, Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio are also starring and reprising their roles from previous series entries. The film will be directed by Jonathan Entwistle (The End Of The F***ing World) from a script by Rob Lieber (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day). The casting was posted to THR.
Ralph Macchio at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, USA, on May 1, 2019. Image via Shutterstock/Tinseltown
Karate Kid Universes Colliding
The Karate Kid universe started in 1984 with Macchio in the lead role of Daniel LaRusso, an East Coast kid who moves to California with his mother and is bullied relentlessly. He finds strength and discipline in the martial arts taught by Mr. Miyagi, played by the late Pat Morita, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the role. The film spawned three direct sequels and succeeded at the box office. In 2010, the franchise was rebooted in a movie starring Jaden Smith and Chan, which was also a success.
Since then, however, the original timeline of the Miyagi-Verse has had a successful run in television. In 2018, the first season of Cobra Kai, a spin-off featuring a new generation of kids learning from Macchio and William Zabka's Johnny Lawrence, has had a very lucrative run on YouTube Red and Netflix. Many of the universe's characters have appeared, though Macchio has said he does not consider the Chan film canon in interviews. Will that change now that they are starring in this new Karate Kid film together? This has to mean they are merging the two universes, no? We know the upcoming season of Cobra Kai will be the last; what happens there to set this new film up? Lots of questions to be answered.
Karate Kid will be released in theaters on December 13th.
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