‘Cobra Kai’ stars reunite in ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ bonus scene (exclusive)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ralph-macchio-karate-kid-legends-033125-ab50f5fdd62a4faaa41cf272e8b2653a.jpg?w=780&resize=780,470&ssl=1)
This article contains spoilers for The Karate Kid: Legends.
Ever since Sony Pictures announced they were bringing The Karate Kid franchise back to the big screen with a new installment, fans have had one burning question: Would the movie feature any crossover with Netflix’s Karate Kid sequel series, Cobra Kai?
Now that Karate Kid: Legends is finally in theaters, we have our answer: Kind of.
The new movie stars Ben Wang as Li Fong, who moves to New York with his mom (Ming-Na Wen) and ends up training for the “5 Boroughs” karate tournament — with some help from his Uncle Han (Jackie Chan, reprising his role from the 2010 Karate Kid with Jaden Smith) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). Along the way, Li teaches a pizza parlor owner named Victor (Joshua Jackson), who is being harassed by loan sharks, some Kung Fu so he can defend himself.
Though Cobra Kai doesn’t factor into Legends‘ primary story, the film ends with a brief reunion between Daniel and Johnny (William Zabka) in a pre-credits sequence. We see Daniel, back home in California, open the door to a pizza delivery guy bearing a thank-you pie from Li and Victor, sent all the way from New York. After reading the note from Victor (which leaves him on the hook for a very big tip), Daniel heads inside, where his nemesis-turned-friend Johnny happens to be hanging out. Though Johnny proclaims that West Coast pizza is better (sacrilege!), he happily indulges in a slice — and suggests that he and Daniel should open their own pizzeria called… Miyagi-Dough. (Ba-dum-bum!)
Zabka traveled to Montreal, where Legends was shot, to film the reunion with his Cobra Kai costar. Though he didn’t share any scenes with martial arts master Chan, the two did connect off-camera. Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive look at their meet-up:
Jonathan Wenk
Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg were not involved with Karate Kid: Legends, but the trio did have conversations with Legends director Jonathan Entwistle before the film went into production. “We sat down with John two years ago when they were very early on, and we had read an earlier script, and it became clear that [the movie] was something else entirely,” Heald told Entertainment Weekly in February. Added Hurwitz, “We were really just making sure that it made sense that the Daniel LaRusso that ends our series could be the same Daniel LaRusso who was in [the movie] world.”
Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.
In an interview last December, Entwistle told EW that part of the reason he wanted to make Legends was because he’s such a “huge fan” of Cobra Kai. “I was excited about the idea that the films and the series can all be part of one family,” he said. “We’re really excited that we’ve added another piece to the overall universe.”
Karate Kid: Legends is in theaters now.