Ralph Macchio, who starred in the original “The Karate Kid” from 1984, and martial arts legend Jackie Chan, who appeared in the 2010 reboot “The Karate Kid,” are both returning to the franchise for Sony‘s upcoming sequel film.
The two actors will each reprise their original characters but are joining together in the same movie for the first time. On November 21, Chan and Macchio shared in a video they’d be returning to the film, but they also revealed the studio is launching a global casting search to find the next Karate Kid. They’re encouraging you to wax on and wax off and submit your best video online for a chance to star in the movie.
Plot details are currently being kept under wraps, but the studio is aiming to release the still-untitled project on December 13, 2024.
Jonathan Entwistle (“I Am Not Okay With This”) is directing from a screenplay by Rob Lieber (“Peter Rabbit”). Karen Rosenfelt is producing the film.
The “Karate Kid” movies have brought in more than $430 million globally at the box office and also include the Emmy-nominated “Cobra Kai” sequel series, for which Macchio most recently reprised his role as Daniel LaRusso and which he executive produces. Macchio is also known for his work in “The Outsiders,” “My Cousin Vinny,” and “Hitchcock,” among other films.
Chan has remained enormously prolific over the last few years and has continued to be a box office draw internationally. He’s also lent his voice to animated films like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” “Wish Dragon,” and “Kung Fu Panda.” But the new “Karate Kid” movie is the first time he’s worked on a major Hollywood studio film in quite some time, dating all the way back to the 2010 “Karate Kid” reboot. He was given an Honorary Oscar for his contributions to the film industry in 2016 and was the first Chinese actor to receive the honor.
Macchio is repped by Untitled Entertainment, Buchwald, Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman, L.L.P, and Jill Fritzo PR. Chan is repped by CAA and Jessica Chen. Entwistle is repped by CAA, Grandview, 42 and Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer. Leiber is repped by Verve, Fourth Wall Management and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
