New 'Karate Kid' Movie in the Works Starring Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio

A new Karate Kid movie is in the works and will feature two iconic actors. On Tuesday, Sony Pictures announced that Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan will reprise their characters in the latest installment of the martial arts franchise. The two were seen in an introductory video for the movie and announced a global search for an actor to play the title character. Jonathan Entwistle is directing the upcoming movie, and Ken Rosenfelt has been penciled in as a producer. As mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter, the untitled Karate Kid film is scheduled to be released on Dec. 13, 2024, and shooting will start in the spring. 

Macchio, 62, played Daniel LaRusso in three Karate Kid movies. The first film was released in 1984 and became a huge hit as people pulled for Daniel who was bullied constantly by a group led by Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). The film also starred Pat Morita who played Mr. Miyagi, a handyman who taught Daniel karate. The success of the film led to The Karate Kid Part II, The Karate Kid Part III and The Next Karate Kid which starred Morita and Hilary Swank. Macchio reprised his role as Daniel in the Netflix series Cobra Kai. The series is in the process of filming its sixth and final season on the streaming service. 

In 2010, Sony revived the franchise with The Karate Kid which starred Chan, Jaden Smith and Taraji P. Henson. The film was a hit for Sony as it grossed $359 million worldwide on a $40 million budget. The remake also earned strong reviews, earning a 66 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

In Macchio's memoir Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me, he talked about expanding The Karate Kid Universe. He wrote (per Collider): "It has become a little bit the Marvel Cinematic — Karate Kid cinematic universe. There are other ideas, other spinoff ideas, more length to the Cobra Kai series, although we don't have an official Season 6 pick-up yet. That's the question I've been getting at every interview. We don't have that yet, but we feel confident thanks to all you folks that want to watch it that we'll have more life in what was born in the fall of 1983 when we were making this movie, The Karate Kid. Who knew?"