Two iconic figures of martial arts movies are coming together for the new Karate Kid: Legends film — Jackie Chan, 71, and Ralph Macchio, 63.
Macchio played Daniel LaRusso in the original 1980s Karate Kid trilogy and then reprised the role for Netflix’s follow-up TV series Cobra Kai. Chan joined the franchise in 2010 for the reboot of the original, starring Jaden Smith. Chan played Mr. Han, the counterpart of Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) in the original films.
Now the two worlds are merging for Karate Kid: Legends, which takes place three years after the events of Cobra Kai. In Karate Kid: Legends, newcomer Ben Wang stars as Li Fong, a young Chinese boy who is trained in karate by Mr. Han and Daniel. Li’s nemesis is Connor Day (Aramis Knight), and Li’s love interest is Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley). Joshua Jackson. plays Mia’s father Victor, a former boxer and now-owner of a pizzeria, who befriends Li.
At a photocall for the film in London, Chan, Macchio and Wang posed for photographers against a setting sun backdrop, flanked by traditional Chinese drummers.
In an interview with Fandango, the three stars talked about how the new movie unites the entire franchise, plus Macchio admitted he fan-boyed out a little at the prospect of getting to work with the legendary Chan.
“Exciting, for me. I mean, it’s Jackie Chan — a legendary performer, stuntperson, actor. Only a few times in your career you get to brush with greatness, so I was excited for that opportunity. Also excited to pay the legacy forward of what I brought to this, what the great Pat Morita has brought to this franchise, and honor that and respect that, so that was exciting for me,” said Macchio.
