Jaden Smith, Ben Wang

SUMMARY

  • After Ralph Macchio and Jaden Smith, it is Ben Wang's time to become the Karate Kid.
  • Wang proves to be a great addition from the trailer of the film itself, where he showcases his martial arts skills.
  • Wang could prove to become a much better fighter than Smith and the entire Cobra Kai team put together.

When Jackie Chan returns to the Karate Kid universe, his new prodigy will be played by Ben Wang instead of Jaden Smith. Wang will play the role of the new young karate fighter Li Fong in Karate Kid: Legends and he looks amazing in the trailer of the film. It appears that he would surpass Smith and the entire Cobra Kai stars as the best “Karate Kid”.

Legends Ben Wang with Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio in Karate Kid: Legends | Credits: Sony Pictures Releasing

Ralph Macchio will also join Chan for the new film, which is helmed by Jonathan Entwistle of I’m Not Okay with This and The End of the F***ing World fame. The film is penned by Rob Lieber and will be produced under Sony’s banner.

The new Karate Kid – Ben Wang – fights better than Jaden Smith and the Cobra Kai stars

LegendsBen Wang in a still from Karate Kid: Legends | Credits: Sony Pictures Releasing

15-year-old Ben Wang is the new Karate Kid in Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan’s Karate Kid: Legends. The trailer of the film dropped a week ago, showing some incredible moves of the young actor. Before the film, the Chinese-Canadian actor caught attention with his role in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese.

Fans who got a chance to look at the trailer find him to be a killer in the role. The actor’s fighting skills look finer than Jaden Smith and the entire Cobra Kai fighters put together. From their social media comments, fans are sure excited about the film and the actor’s performance. Some of the comments under @_darkmight‘s Instagram post read:

Comeback of Asian martial arts in cinema ?? HELL YEAH !!

@karimul_086

I think it’s time we power scale the karate kid verse

@asian.cajun.2004

That ladder kick has gotta go get added to the fight choreography hall of fame

@captencollin

He’s trained by Mr Han and Daniel! The kid literally has what it takes to be a legend

@jude.nzek

Good thing they went with cooler choreographers and fight scene editors

@a_khan_01

It appears that, unlike previous films, Wang’s character comes with some experience in fighting before he gets Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and Jackie Chan‘s Mr. Han as his mentors. From his fighting skills in the trailer, it comes as no surprise as to why he was chosen as the lead among thousands of young boys who auditioned.

Wang is skilled in several martial arts, including karate, wing chun/kung fu, gumdo, kempo, and taekwondo. In his Disney+ series, he got to showcase some of his fighting skills which earned him an advantage with the Karate Kid filmmakers. Additionally, Wang is also fluent in Mandarin and hence could bring more cultural background to his character.

Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan look great together in the trailer

LegendsJackie Chan in a still from Karate Kid: Legends | Credits: Sony Pictures Releasing

Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan’s journey in the Karate Kid universe is going to intersect for the first time in Karate Kid: Legends. Macchio played the young prodigy in the first film in the franchise, The Karate Kid, in 1984. The film spawned three sequels, two of them starring Macchio, a reboot with Chan and Jaden Smith, and the Netflix series Cobra Kai where Macchio reprised his role.

Chan’s character comes in search of Mr. Miyagi’s prodigy, Daniel LaRusso, in the trailer. It appears that Mr. Han and Mr. Miyagi share a history, which will probably redeem Pat Morita’s character after the recent revelations about him. Macchio was excited at the opportunity to work with Chan. He shared with THR about the experience:

Jackie Chan is a legend, just to have that opportunity was exciting. He was wonderful. Lot of heart, lot of soul and caring, I will say that about Jackie. He loves being on set and it was like his first day every day. I love seeing that at his age and time of his career because I like to try to bring that as well, but a great young cast on that one, and we’ll see where it goes.

Cobra Kai will release its final set of episodes in February 2025 and showrunner Jon Hurwitz told THR that he had spoken to the filmmakers about the series finale. It appears that the finale of Cobra Kai will tease the film in some manner.

Karate Kid: Legends is set for a release date on May 30, 2025.

Ben Wangcobra kaiJackie ChanJaden Smithkarate kidRalph Macchio

Written by Hashim Asraff

Articles Published: 2145

Hashim, Entertainment Writer. With over 2000 published articles on FandomWire, he covers a wide range of topics from celebrity life to comic book movies. He holds a Masters degree in Sociology and his expertise proves invaluable in handling sensitive news. His passion for crime investigation thrillers has turned him into a detective, exploring the darkest corners of the internet during his research.