Cobra Kai Actor Reveals Ralph Macchio Is ‘Nervous’ About Facing Jackie Chan in Upcoming Karate Kid Film
Ralph Macchio is slightly nervous about appearing opposite Jackie Chan in the upcoming Karate Kid movie. The reveal comes by way of Cobra Kai actor Jacob Bertrand, who plays Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz in the Netflix series.
“[Macchio] said that Jackie Chan still moves like he’s a 20-year-old, and it’s really scary to fight with him,” Bertrand told GamesRadar+. “But you know, he’s obviously a master and is so cool to work with. He was just talking about being nervous to fight Jackie Chan, ’cause Jackie Chan is freaking Jackie muh-fricking Chan. But he said the fights went super well and that all his stuff was great, and I’m stoked for the movie.”
“It was cool texting him as he was, as he was doing the movie, being like, ‘All right, dude, what’s up? How is it?’ And, you know, getting all the updates,” Bertrand continued. “He was saying that the young cast is really, really talented – but that they’re not quite as good as I am specifically, that no one really holds a candle to me. These are Ralph Macchio’s words, not mine. I’m trying to think [about what he said] verbatim. I think ‘I’m a God’ is what he said,” the actor joked.
The Karate Kid Reboot Was Announced in 2023
The upcoming Karate Kid movie was officially announced in Nov. 2023, with Macchio and Chan starring alongside a brand new titular hero played by Ben Wang. The film, directed by Jonathan Entwistle from a script by Rob Lieber, marks Chan’s return to the franchise after his role as a martial arts master in the 2010 remake. Macchio, who reprised his role as Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid spinoff series Cobra Kai, recently offered some insight into his experience working with Chan.
“Jackie Chan is a legend,” Macchio said about the veteran action star. “Just to have that opportunity was exciting. He was wonderful. Lot of heart, lot of soul and caring, I will say that about Jackie. He loves being on set, and it was like his first day every day. I love seeing that at his age and time of his career because I like to try to bring that as well, but a great young cast on that one, and we’ll see where it goes,” he continued.
Macchio previously revealed that the movie will have a few subtle ties to Cobra Kai. “It was about always being true to LaRusso — and still always, throughout Cobra Kai,” the actor said. “And then the new film, it’s about being honest and truthful to the character and what would motivate any of his actions. But what I was able to do is find things from [Cobra Kai] Season 6 that sort of reference in a way that makes sense if you’ve watched everything but is not just drawing specifically. It helps motivate all the actions, and hopefully, that thread will be seen by the fans in a good way.”
Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2 premieres on Netflix on Nov. 15, followed by Part 3 in 2025. Karate Kid hits theaters on May 30, 2025.
