Summary

  • The next Karate Kid movie release date has been pushed back five months to May 30, 2025 due to production delays on Cobra Kai season 6 from the 2023 strikes.
  • The sequel will see Daniel LaRusso crossover with Jackie Chan's Mr. Han from the action franchise's prior reboot.
  • Kraven the Hunter will now take over Karate Kid's December 13 release date.

With its predecessor facing a production delay due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes, the next Karate Kid movie has found its release date pushed back. The next installment in the beloved franchise will continue the story of Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso after the events of Cobra Kai's final season, teaming him up with new young karate fighter Li Fong, played by American Born Chinese alum Ben Wang, and Jackie Chan's Mr. Han from the 2010 movie. The sequel hails from I Am Not Okay With This' Jonathan Entwistle in his feature directorial debut and Peter Rabbit's Rob Lieber.

Sony Pictures is officially delaying the next Karate Kid movie's release date by five months. The sequel, which is set to see Macchio's Daniel LaRusso cross over with Jackie Chan's Mr. Han, is being delayed to allow Cobra Kai season 6 to finish its production after it got a late start due to last year's strikes. The Karate Kid is now set for a May 30, 2025 release date instead of December 13, which will now be taken over by Kraven the Hunter.

Karate Kid's Delay Is Very Telling For Its Cobra Kai Connections

With reports of Karate Kid's release delay stemming from Cobra Kai season 6's own production delay, it proves rather telling for just how much the final season of the Netflix show will set up the next movie. Prior reports indicated that the movie would follow Li as he moves to the East Coast and begins studying martial arts, which had seemingly squashed hopes for the show to cross over with it given it's set almost entirely on the West Coast.

This story had already led to questions about just how involved LaRusso would be in Karate Kid, but given how the stakes have escalated to life-threatening proportions in Cobra Kai, season 6 could set up the original character moving him and his family away from the Valley towards his childhood home of New Jersey. The Cobra Kai season 5 ending saw John Kreese fake his death and break out of prison to enact the next steps in his plan after Terry Silver betrayed him and nearly killed Daniel, Johnny and Chozen.

Miguel and Robby in Cobra Kai season 6
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Predicting How Cobra Kai Season 6 Ends Every Main Character's Story

Given how Cobra Kai season 6 is the final season of the series, it is hard not to draw predictions about how it will wrap up each character's arc.

Should Cobra Kai season 6 leave the LaRussos feeling like the time has come to leave the Valley behind, particularly as Sam gears up to graduate from college, it would go a long way to explain how Macchio appears in the next Karate Kid, and why the Netflix show's delay would prompt the movie's. However, given Daniel's mother still lives in New Jersey, it could be just as likely he is visiting her when he gets involved with Li, or could learn of a prior unknown connection between Chan's Mr. Han and Mr. Miyagi and look to keep his late mentor's legacy alive.

Source: Sony