Joshua Jackson joins cast of the new Karate Kid movie

From the ice rink to the dojo. THR reports that Joshua Jackson has joined the cast of the upcoming Karate Kid movie from Sony Pictures.

Character details are being kept under wraps, but the outlet says that Joshua Jackson will play one of the main characters in the Karate Kid movie. The film will star Ben Wang (American Born Chinese) as a young teenager from China who “finds strength and direction via martial arts and a tough but wise mentor (or two).” The coming-of-age drama will also find Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio reprising their roles of Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso, which brings together the original franchise and the 2010 remake.

Jonathan Entwistle (The End of the F***ing World) is set to direct the movie, which has been scripted by Rob Lieber (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day).

After getting his start on the big screen with movies such as The Mighty Ducks, Urban Legend, Cruel Intentions, and The Skulls, Jackson has been sticking to the realm of television for the last decade. He co-starred in Fringe, The Affair, Little Fires Everywhere, and Dr. Death, but was recently seen starring in the Fatal Attraction TV series for Paramount+. Jackson played Dan Gallagher, a Los Angeles deputy district attorney who has a one-night stand with Alex Forrest (Lizzy Caplan), but when he decides to end the affair, Alex has trouble letting go. The series didn’t receive the best reviews and was ultimately cancelled after just one season.

The new Karate Kid movie has already been slated for a December 13th release, but it’s not the only upcoming project we have to look forward to in the franchise. The sixth and final season of Cobra Kai kicked off production earlier this year, and while there’s no official release date yet, Netflix did include the final season in their sizzle reel of 2024 projects. If that pans out, we’ll be spending a lot of time in the dojo later this year, and that sounds just fine to me.