Breck Eisner to direct Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan in The Karate Kid 2

Four years after THE KARATE KID returned to theaters in a film featuring no karate, we are getting a sequel that will reunite Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. This time, however, the man behind the camera will be Breck Eisner. Eisner is best known for directing SAHARA and THE CRAZIES and has long been associated with both a STRETCH ARMSTRONG and a FLASH GORDON movie.

THE KARATE KID grossed almost $350 million worldwide so a sequel was pretty much guaranteed. The original trilogy starring Pat Norita and Ralph Macchio was an iconic one from the 1980s and early 1990s. The first attempted reboot/sequel starred Hilary Swank. While Jaden Smith has received a lot of flack for his acting ability in movies like AFTER EARTH, THE KARATE KID was a fairly decent family film even if not quite as memorable as the 1984 version.

There is no plot or release date as of yet for THE KARATE KID 2 which will have to incorporate the significant physical change in Jaden Smith‘s appearance over the last few years. Will the film retain the same plot as the first movie or will we encounter more puberty-centric plot elements for the follow-up? I would expect to see THE KARATE KID sequel begin filming this year for release sometime next year.