Karate Kid: Legends trailer: Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan join forces to train prodigy Ben Wang
The official trailer for Karate Kid: Legends was released on Tuesday by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The teaser trailer sees Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan reprise their roles as martial arts masters in the iconic Karate Kid franchise.
Their legendary characters team up to train karate prodigy Li Fong, played by newcomer Ben Wang, 24, for the ultimate martial arts competition.
The trailer for the upcoming action film opens with Chan, 70, playing Mr. Han from the 2010 Karate Kid movie.
In a tranquil Chinese garden surrounded by towering buildings, he leads a class of young students and instructs the future martial arts masters in training – and one of them is karate prodigy Li Fong, played by the rising star. Cheek.
He goes on the hunt for the original karate kid Daniel LaRusso, who is played by Macchio, the latest celebrity to be immortalized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The official trailer for Karate Kid: Legends was released on Tuesday by Sony Pictures Entertainment. The teaser trailer sees Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan reprise their roles as martial arts masters in the iconic Karate Kid franchise
Their legendary characters team up to train karate prodigy Li Fong, played by newcomer Ben Wang, 24, for the ultimate martial arts duel.
‘Our traditions are rooted in history. Kung fu. Karate’, Han says at the beginning of the trailer with fragments of the Chinese students training karate. ‘The tree grows strong.’
In the next clip, Han travels far to Los Angeles.
Macchio, 63, the star of the original film trilogy and the Netflix revival series Cobra Kai, while Daniel LaRusso is surprised that Han found him at Miyagi-do Dojo.
He asks Han, “Did you know Mr. Miyagi?”
“I didn’t come looking for Sensei Miyagi,” Han tells Daniel. “I came looking for you.”
In a series of quick clips, Han’s student Li is shown being displaced from Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother.
He has trouble fitting in at school and at one point is seen looking at his black eye after encountering a group of bullies at school.
When he befriends a girl who needs his help, he decides to enter a karate competition.
The trailer for the upcoming action film opens with Chan, 70, playing Mr. Han from the 2010 Karate Kid movie
He seeks out the original karate kid Daniel LaRusso for help. Macchio, 63, the star of the original film trilogy and the Netflix revival series Cobra Kai, while Daniel LaRusso is surprised that Han found him at Miyagi-do Dojo
As the series of events is shown in segments, Han explains: ‘In life you only have one question. Is it worth fighting for…or not?
The martial arts master then seeks out the original karate kid to help him train Li.
“Li means to me what you meant to Sensei Miyagi,” Han tells Daniel.
After convincing him to join forces, Han and Daniel merge their two martial arts styles and teach Li a new way to fight for the epic showdown.
Between cutscenes, words flash across the screen: “When families unite, a new legacy begins.”
“I do this for all of us,” Li tells his two teachers as they train hard. “Whatever it takes.”
In another scene, Li and Daniel sit on the sidewalk after fighting some of their enemies, sharing an inspiring teacher-student moment.
“Two branches,” Li begins the sentence before Daniel finishes it for him. ‘One tree.’
In a series of quick clips, Han’s student Li is shown being displaced from Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. He has trouble fitting in at school and at one point is seen checking out his black eye after encountering a group of bullies at school.
When he befriends a girl who needs his help, he decides to enter a karate competition
When Daniel hands him his own bandana, one with the image of the symbolic tree, Li immediately puts it on and takes on all his future challenges with the strength and confidence instilled in him by his two teachers.
The star-studded cast isn’t limited to silver screen veterans Macchio and Chan.
Ming-Na Wen plays Li Fong’s mother. Joshua Jackson and Sadie Stanley will also appear in the film.
Together they play the leading role and introduce newcomer Wang.
He was cast after Chan and Macchio teamed up in real life to conduct a global search for the child prodigy who would take on the role.
Wang was chosen because in addition to his action chops, he also has experience in karate, as well as wing chun/kung fu, gumdo, kempo and taekwondo.
It was also important to Chan and Macchio, who revealed they got the script in September 2022 and cast Wang earlier this year, that their Karate Kid was fluent in Mandarin and understood the Asian American experience.
The martial arts master then seeks out the original karate kid to help him train Li. “Li means to me what you meant to Sensei Miyagi,” Han tells Daniel
After convincing him to join forces, Han and Daniel merge their two martial arts styles and teach Li a new way to fight for the epic showdown.
‘I was the target audience when that film came out. I was exactly the age of the character,” Wang said of being cast as the latest titular Kid after falling in love with the films when he watched the 2010 version with Chan and Jaden Smith.
‘That whole movie takes place in Beijing, and I just got back from living in Beijing for a year. I also grew up watching Jackie Chan movies. He is the first memory I have of knowing what an actor is. It was all my favorite things in one place,” the American-born Chinese star told Entertainment Weekly in an article published Monday.
Thirteen years later he got the role he never thought possible.
“I thought, ‘That’ll be great for whatever kid gets it,’” he recalled with a laugh.
Karate Kid: Legends will premiere in theaters on May 30, 2025.