Ralph Macchio is best known for playing the character Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid film franchise, which returned with a newfound popularity in the follow-up series Cobra Kai.
Now Macchio is returning one more time in this summer’s blockbuster, Karate Kid: Legends, which teams up his character Daniel with Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han from the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid.
Their stories will cross in this new film when kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang) relocates to New York City. He attracts unwanted attention from a local karate champion and embarks on a journey to enter the ultimate karate competition with the help of Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso.
Macchio never could have imagined when he played Daniel in the 1984 classic The Karate Kid, he would still be playing him over forty years later, and that he would be starring in a film alongside the legend Jackie Chan. He sat down with GamesRadar to talk about the experience, and he said:
“Well, it’s hard not to find a fresh and fun dynamic when you’re around Jackie Chan. He exudes that, right? He just really has a great spirit about him. He loves being on the set. He loves making movies. He’s there early, he leaves late.
He will help you hang the lights and the microphones, if you need it. It’s infectious, his kid in a candy store persona. He really has that. So that was exciting and new for me.”
Legends is set after the events of Cobra Kai’s sixth and final season, and the character Daniel has come a long way both personally and on his karate journey since the original film. Macchio said of LaRusso’s arc:
“He’s more grounded, a little more Miyagi in his way, which is kind of how we landed him at the end of the Cobra Kai series. And this being a few years later, it made sense for me.
He’s in a place where I believed he would wind up even back in the day, and so having the opportunity to help someone who needs a little guidance and support, someone who is having a mirrored scenario that young Daniel LaRusso had, just seemed like an exciting, fresh way to bring this to another generation, in this spectacular Ben Wang.”
I have always been a fan of the franchise, and I’m glad to see the character land in such a great place. Karate Kid: Legends hits US theaters this week, on May 30th.
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