The Karate Kid 2024 is now in production.
Hi-yah! The new Karate Kid movie has kicked off production, Sony Pictures announced Thursday. 40 years after his sensei Mr. Miyagi (the late Pat Morita) taught Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) that the secret to Karate lies in the mind and heart — not in the hands — in 1984’s The Karate Kid, the studio shared the official first look at the newest karate kid (played by American Born Chinese‘s Ben Wang). The movie, which unites the original Miyagi-verse and the 2010 Karate Kid reboot that starred Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, is scheduled to open in theaters on December 13.
“A chop and a slice,” Sony announced with a photo of a pizza box and Wang’s Karate Kid, described as “a teen from China who finds strength and direction via martial arts and a tough but wise mentor (or maybe even two).”
A chop and a slice. 🎬🍕 #KarateKidMovie has officially kicked off production!
📸: Jonathan Wenk
📸: Justin Brown pic.twitter.com/SRcSLMzHHW— Karate Kid Movie (@KarateKidMovie) April 4, 2024
Macchio reprises his Karate Kid and Cobra Kai role as the original Crane-kicking Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso, with Chan returning as Kung Fu master Mr. Han from 2010’s Karate Kid re-imagining. The cast of the new movie also includes Ming-Na Wen (Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett), Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek), Sadie Stanley (The Goldbergs), Aramis Knight (Ender’s Game), and Wyatt Oleff (IT) in undisclosed roles.
Jonathan Entwistle, best known for his coming-of-age teen TV dramas The End of the F***ing World and I Am Not Okay With This, makes his feature directorial debut on the legacy sequel penned by Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween).
Sony found its next Karate Kid after Macchio and Chan appeared together in a video announcing the studio had launched a “global casting search” in November. Wang — who is fluent in Mandarin and skilled in martial arts, including karate, wing chun/kung fu, gumdo, kempo and taekwondo — won out in a search that reportedly received more than 10,000 submissions in its first 24 hours alone.
“There’s kind of this Karate Kid Cinematic Universe now where Cobra Kai is at the center of that. And when that day does come in for a landing, there are other areas to draw from,” Macchio previously told ComicBook. “Is there a Miyagi origin story? Is there a Cobra Kai prequel before The Karate Kid? [Are] there spin-offs with some of the young cast of these characters? Who knows? But we’re not done as long as we’re given the opportunity to really bring it in. As long as it evolves organically, these guys that write the show really have their finger on the pulse of that.”
The Karate Kid kicks into theaters Dec. 13.
