Karate Kid: Legends' Premise Creates A Big Plot Hole With Ralph Macchio & Jackie Chan Returning

Karate Kid: Legends, which will hit theaters May 30, 2025, will see Macchio's Daniel LaRusso join forces with Chan's Mr. Han to teach a new student (played by Ben Wang) karate. This follows the success of the Karate Kid spinoff series, Cobra Kai, with a returned focus on the original movie franchise. Aside from this, little else is definitively known about the movie's plot. It's unclear precisely how Daniel and Mr. Han will meet, but this is the least of the upcoming film's problems. Perhaps the most significant challenge will be effectively justifying the strange similarities between these characters' stories.

The Karate Kid (2010) Closely Followed The Original Movie's Premise

Jackie Chan & Jaden Smith's Movie Was Set Up As A Reboot

Custom Image by Daniel Bibby

The Karate Kid (2010) was treated more like a reboot than a sequel. Sure, Chan's Mr. Han didn't have the same name as Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi, but the former was clearly based on the latter. Mr. Han protected a kid (Dre) from bullying and then agreed to teach the kid martial arts so that he could face his abusers in a tournament. This is the exact formula of 1984's The Karate Kid, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with this at the time. Reboots are nothing new, and Karate Kid (2010) introduced enough changes within the story and characters to keep it fresh and unique.

It's for precisely this reason that Chan's Karate Kid and Macchio's 1984 movie were considered to be in separate universes. It's strange that any characters within a single continuity would have such similar stories. However, 2025's Karate Kid: Legends is doing precisely this by bringing Macchio and Chan together. While the idea that these two will star together is exciting, the upcoming movie will have quite the job explaining why Daniel LaRusso and Dre have the exact same story.

There Are Too Many Similarities To Be Organic

Daniel moved to California from the East Coast in 1984's The Karate Kid and was immediately met with bullying. It took a friendship with Mr. Miyagi for things to turn around for him, and a triumphant underdog win at the All-Valley Tournament made it all the better. In 2010's The Karate Kid, Dre (Jaden Smith) moved to China with his single mom, was met by bullying, and was only improved by his unlikely friendship with Mr. Han, a teacher with a rather unique teaching style. These stories are essentially identical—both Daniel and Dre even got into their respective pickles because of their feelings for a girl.

Karate Kid: Legends will have a hard time explaining away these similarities. While people can coincidentally have backgrounds that line up with one another, Daniel and Dre take this to an entirely different level. Unless the upcoming movie comes up with an effective way to make this make sense, it may be difficult to take the new Karate Kid story seriously.

The New Karate Kid Movie Will Have To Create Some Hidden Connections

More likely than not, Mr. Miyagi will be the key to Karate Kid: Legends explaining away the similarities between the 2010 and 1984 The Karate Kid movies. Daniel's sensei and Mr. Han have similar training styles, which utilize practical exercises (like waxing a car or hanging up a jacket) to teach martial arts. It's certainly possible that their own histories in karate and kung fu have the same roots. This would make some sense since Miyagi-Do notably evolved from a style Mr. Miyagi's ancestors learned in China. However, Daniel and Dre's stories will be much harder to explain.

Daniel may remind Mr. Han of Dre, and Mr. Han may remind Daniel of Mr. Miyagi. This would be the foundation of their relationship, and this itself may be enough to distract audiences from the fact that these stories being so close is a bit of a stretch. A better alternative may be some reveal in the upcoming Karate Kid: Legends that Mr. Miyagi wrote to Mr. Han and told him all about his young student and friend before the events of 2010's The Karate Kid, thus inspiring the man to take Dre under his wing. In the end, audiences might just have to accept it—though an adequate explanation would be preferred.

Karate Kid: Legends (2025) is a sequel to Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid directed by Jonathan Entwistle. The film sees Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan reprising their roles, continuing the legacy of martial arts mentorship and rivalry in a new era of challenges and apprentices.

Release Date May 30, 2025

Cast Ralph Macchio , Jackie Chan , Ben Wang , Ming-Na Wen , Joshua Jackson , Sadie Stanley , Aramis Knight , Wyatt Oleff

Character(s) Daniel LaRusso , Mr. Han , Li Fong

Director Jonathan Entwistle

Writers Robert Mark Kamen , Christopher Murphey , Rob Lieber

Studio(s) Columbia Pictures , Jerry Weintraub Productions , Overbrook Entertainment , Sony Pictures Entertainment

Distributor(s) Sony Pictures Entertainment