2010’s “The Karate Kid” was a box office success, yet it took several years for a sequel to materialize due to multiple factors. The production, helmed by Harald Zwart, who previously directed “The Pink Panther 2,” and written by Christopher Murphey, known for “Body of Proof,” was essentially a reboot of the 1984 film with the same title and the fifth installment in the martial arts movie series as a whole. The story revolves around Mr. Han (played by Jackie Chan), a maintenance worker, teaching kung fu to young Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) after they move from Detroit to Beijing with his mother Sherry (Taraji P. Henson).
The film was highly profitable at the box office, earning $359.1 million compared to its production cost of only $40 million. This global revenue not only placed it among the top 15 highest-grossing films of 2010 (beating titles like Black Swan, Sex and the City 2, Salt, Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Expendables, Eat Pray Love, Paranormal Activity 2, True Grit), but also established it as the highest-grossing installment of its franchise, significantly outperforming Part II’s $115.1 million. Interestingly, a direct sequel to this remake took over a decade and a half to materialize, with the new Karate Kid: Legends set to hit cinemas soon.
A Sequel To Jackie Chan’s 2010 The Karate Kid Was In Development After Its Box Office Success
The Project Got Stuck In Production Hell
Although a direct follow-up wasn’t released straight away, plans for a sequel to the 2010 film The Karate Kid were made quite soon after its premiere. In this planned movie, Jaden Smith’s character Dre Parker and Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han were set to reappear. However, it wasn’t until April 2014 that Breck Eisner was appointed as the director for the project. Notably, he had recently directed The Crazies in 2010 and has since worked on Vin Diesel’s movie The Last Witch Hunter in 2015, as well as 14 episodes of The Expanse.
The delay in securing a director hinted at the production issues that ultimately led to the project’s collapse. Shortly after Eisner was announced as the director, he left the project due to a scheduling clash with “The Last Witch Hunter,” and Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer took over from Zak Penn, who had replaced Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris earlier. Subsequently, the sequel faced years of development limbo before it was eventually abandoned.
According to LRM Online, in 2017, Jackie Chan told The San Francisco Chronicle that Jaden Smith is no longer a child and it’s not appropriate to call the project “The Karate Kid.” He added that he was unsure about the title.
What The Previous Karate Kid’s Sequel Would’ve Been About
The Story Was Kept Under Wraps
Despite several sources confirming that both Smith and Chan were involved in the project during its creation, specifics about the storyline for the sequel have remained scarce, other than the fact it would bring back Dre Parker and Mr. Han. In an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle in 2017, Chan himself admitted that the original script was subpar, but he kept details about the abandoned screenplay a secret.
The Karate Kid Is Only Now Getting A Sequel Thanks To Cobra Kai
The Streaming Series Revived Interest In The Franchise
Despite the follow-up to the 2010 remake never materializing, the Karate Kid franchise resurfaced, focusing on original characters like Daniel LaRusso (played by Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), among others, in the sequel series Cobra Kai. This series aired across several streaming platforms over six seasons from 2018 to 2025, and it was incredibly successful, breaking numerous records. For instance, it became Netflix’s most-watched show in September 2020, just a month after its debut on the platform.
| Cobra Kai Season | Release Date(s) | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | May 2, 2018 | YouTube Red |
| Season 2 | April 24, 2019 | YouTube Premium |
| Season 3 | January 1, 2021 | Netflix |
| Season 4 | December 31, 2021 | Netflix |
| Season 5 | September 9, 2022 | Netflix |
| Season 6 | July 18, 2024/November 15, 2024/February 13, 2025 | Netflix |
Although some characters from Cobra Kai won’t be featured in Karate Kid: Legends, and Dre Parker also won’t make an appearance, the sequel to 2010’s The Karate Kid was successfully brought to life due to the resurgence of interest in the franchise sparked by Cobra Kai. Notably, the 2025 movie is scheduled for release shortly after the series finale of Cobra Kai, and it aims to captivate fans of both the streaming series and the 2010 remake. The story follows Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso as they train a new student, Li Fong, a transplant from New York City, portrayed by Ben Wang.
Source(s): The San Francisco Chronicle (via LRM Online)
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2025-05-28 23:28