Looks like a shake-up is happening in Culver City. After initially announcing release dates for “Kraven the Hunter” and “Karate Kid” during the 2024 Summer and Christmas seasons, Sony has decided to delay both films and swap their seasonal positions.
The upcoming “Karate Kid” movie, which sees Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan reprising their roles from various iterations of the franchise, was originally slated to hit theaters on December 13, 2024. The film will now open six months later on May 30, 2025. A source close to the project told IndieWire that the move will allow the final season of the Macchio-led series “Cobra Kai” to conclude before the film hits theaters. The new positioning also allows the family-friendly film to target a wider audience during summer vacation for many K-12 students.
The move was likely necessitated by the fact that “Cobra Kai” had its final season pushed back by the strikes that brought Hollywood to a halt for much of 2023. In a statement last year on social media, creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg wrote, “Our day one goal with ‘Cobra Kai’ has always been to end it on our terms, leaving the Valley in the time and place we’ve always imagined. So it is with immense pride and thankfulness that we are able to announce that achievement.”
Unfortunately, this achievement was delayed a few months later when the WGA and SAG-AFTRA went on strike after tense negotiations over new contracts for both unions. Posting on Twitter a day after the strike was called, Hurwitz said, “We hate to strike, but if we must, we strike hard. Pencils down in the ‘Cobra Kai’ writers room. No writers on set. These aren’t fun times, but it’s unfortunately necessary. The moment a fair deal is in place, we’ll get back to kicking ass.”
Thankfully, deals did come about for both unions — and, more recently, IATSE as well — sending “Cobra Kai” back into production for its last bout and now allowing the finale of the series to time out perfectly with the release of the new “Karate Kid” film. While no official drop date has been set by Netflix, many expect that some kind of tie-in will be likely given Macchio’s involvement in both projects.
The film’s original December release date will now go to J.C. Chandor’s “Kraven the Hunter,” which was previously slated to open on August 30, 2024. The comic book adaptation is currently the only R-rated movie set to open in theaters over the holidays, giving adults something more mature to watch than its box office competition, Warner’s animated film, “Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim”.
