Netflix might have become the de-facto destination of choice for fans of the original Karate Kid, thanks to the huge success of its Cobra Kai spinoff series, but it's about to have some major competition.
Despite the fact that Cobra Kai isn't actually finished yet, with its final season split into three parts, there's going to be a new Karate Kid movie next year, and it won't be on Netflix when it releases. Columbia Pictures is making Karate Kid: Legends and it'll get a full cinema release in early 2025.
To be more precise, it's coming out on 30 May 2025 (in the US, at least), and it looks like it's going to be an interesting blend. In particular, it's going to star both the original movie's Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and Jackie Chan as Mr. Han from the Jaden Smith reboot in 2010.
They're presumably the legends that the movie's title mentions, but what's most curious is that Macchio has also been playing LaRusso in Cobra Kai on Netflix - leaving fans wondering whether the movie will pick up from the end of that series, or if it'll basically be disconnected from that continuity.
Cobra Kai's end date isn't even set - the second part of its final season arrives on Netflix on 15 November, but we don't yet know when the third section will become available. This makes for a more complicated timeline than you'd usually encounter for this sort of new movie.
The hype for Karate Kid: Legends is building, though, helped by a panel at New York Comic Con, where the first trailer for the movie was shown exclusively to fans. This means we might get to see that trailer fairly soon, although there might be a little gap to preserve that sense of exclusivity.
It apparently showed a few short action scenes and introduced the movie's new hero and those two teachers' latest student - Li Fong, played by Ben Wang. Wang landed the part after an open casting call that apparently considered thousands of applicants, and he's clearly got the athleticism required.
Whether all of this undermines Netflix status as the best streaming service for Karate Kid fans isn't clear - don't be surprised if it busts a gut to get Karate Kid: Legends onto its catalogue as soon as it can once it leaves movie theatres in 2025.
