The film is set for release in December 2024 and a global casting search is underway for the title character
A global cast the search is underway for the lead role in the next The Karate Kid film – but the cast list already has two essential roles already covered. Scheduled for release in December 2024, the Sony Pictures film will see Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio return to the franchise.
Macchio appeared in the original The Karate Kid film, released in 1984, in the role of 15-year-old Daniel LaRusso. He later starred in the 1986 and 1989 sequels before reprising his role in the action-comedy drama series Cobra Kai in 2018.
Chan made his debut in the Karate Kid universe in the 2010 remake. He appeared as Mr. Han in the film, which also starred a young Jaden Smith and Taraji P. Henson. The role was based on the original character of Mr. Miyagi, who was played by Pat Morita in Macchio’s The Karate Kid.
Macchio and Chan made the announcement at a casting promo on Tuesday, sharing that their teaming up for the film is “big news,” but their search for the next Karate Kid is even bigger. According to Hollywood reporter, the film will center on a teenager from China as he finds his feet on the East Coast. Rob Lieber directed the script and Jonathan Entwistle will direct.
“One of the interesting things about watching the Karate Kid movie is that you’re following that kid. The camera is on his shoulder and you experience every frame through Danny LaRusso,” said Macchio Rolling Stone in 2020. “When I showed the film to my children, say 15 years ago, I suddenly saw that film from Mr. Miyagi’s perspective because I was looking at a boy who didn’t want to listen, and he was less interesting to me than Miyagi it was. So I gained a new perspective on it – and that’s something we’re bringing.”
