Karate Kid: Ralph Macchio to join Jackie Chan in new film and will conduct a worldwide search for their new martial arts student

Sony’s new Karate Kid project, which is an apparent separate entity from the popular series Cobra Kai, just got a bit of interesting casting. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Daniel Larusso himself, Ralph Macchio, will be joining Jackie Chan for the new, as of yet untitled, addition to the franchise. Earlier, it was reported that Sony had made room in their schedule for a new Karate Kid film that wasn’t intended to be a straight-up sequel to the original 1984 film nor a continuation of the Netflix show with all the legacy characters. Then it was revealed that Chan would be reprising his Mr. Han role from the 2010 remake. The inclusion of Macchio looks to be an attempt to merge the two worlds.

Additionally, Sony has also announced that there will be a global search to find the new karate kid to star in their film as the student. The two have released a video of the worldwide casting launch.

Sony has also revealed some new details on the untitled Karate Kid film. Firstly, the film will be directed by Jonathan Entwistle from the screenplay written by Rob Lieber. Karen Rosenfelt is on board as a producer. Entwistle is known for his teen television dramas, I’m Not Okay with This and The End of the F***ing World. The screenwriter’s credits include films such as Sony’s Peter Rabbit and Disney’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day. The film is aiming to hit a start to production in the spring.

The plot hasn’t had an official announcement. However, it was rumored by industry insider Daniel Richtman that the story was previously said to be “about a Chinese 16-year-old who studied at Jackie Chan’s [Kung Fu studio] in China. His family moves to Brooklyn. He falls for a girl whose dad is a 35-year-old washed-up boxer who runs a pizza place. The kid trains the girl’s dad for a comeback.” Now that the studio has launched a worldwide casting search for the student, either the rumor would prove to be untrue, or the script was perhaps rewritten to have wiggle room for a kid of any nationality.

The film is slated to be released on December 13, 2024.