Sony Pictures has found the protagonist for the new karate kid movie: Ben Wang, star of Disney+ series American Born Chinese, will lead the new installment of the martial-arts franchise after being selected among thousands and thousands of candidates. On the first day Sony had received 10,000 entries for the role.
The new Karate Kid movie will actually be mixing the original film directed by John G. Avildsen in 1984 and the 2010 reboot by Harald Zwart: Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan are in fact going to reprise their roles from the previous chapters. Even if the plot details are still being kept secret, it is already known that the movie will be set in the East Coast and will tell the story of a young kid from China whio can find his way through life thanks to martial arts and particularly the help of two mentors, likely played by Chan and Macchio.
Jonathan Entwistle is going to direct the new Karate Kid, based on a screenplay by Rob Lieber, who already wrote for Sony the international success Peter Rabbit. Entwistle has already brought to life complex and beloved teenage characters thanks to the Netflix series I’m Not Okay With This (starring Sophia Lillis and Wyat Oleff) and The End of the F***ing World (starring Jessica Bardem and Alex Lawther).
Ben Wang is deeply skilled in various forms of martial arts like Karate, Wing Chun/Kung Fu, Gumdo, Kenpo and Taekwondo. In American Born Chinese he stars alongside Academy Award winners Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. He is now in theaters with the musical Mean Girls, adaptation from the Broadway hit inspired by the 2004 movie with the same title.
The original The Karate Kid gained an Academy Awards nomination as best supporting actor for the legendary Pat Morita in the role of mentor Miyagi. The movie has several sequels, with the second chapter which became a huge box-office success and the third one played in 1994 by a young Hilary Swank. Even the 2010 reboot which had Jaden Smithin the main role grosse more than 600 million dollars all over the world. The Karate Kid universe also inspired the Netflix series Cobra Kai, one of the most seen and beloved in the streaming service, also earning several Emmy Awards nominations.