Ben Wang fell in love with this for the first time Karate kid franchise in a movie theater in 2010 when Jaden Smith’s Dre Parker practiced “jacket on, jacket off” with his sensei Mr. Han (Jackie Chan).

“I was the target audience when this film came out. “I was exactly the same age as the character,” says Wang Weekly entertainment. “The whole film takes place in Beijing, and I have just returned from a year-long stay in Beijing. I also grew up watching Jackie Chan films. He’s the first memory I have of knowing what an actor is. That’s it.” All of my favorite things in one place.

Thirteen years later, Sony announced a worldwide casting search for a new Karate Kid to star alongside Chan and OG Kid Ralph Macchio in a new film directed by Jonathan Entwistle. At this point, Wang already had a starring role in the martial arts-focused Disney+ series American-born Chinese and he has practical knowledge of taekwondo, but he was not immediately considered for the role. “I thought, ‘This is going to be great for any kid who gets it,'” he recalls, laughing.

Aside from his modesty, Wang beat out over 10,000 other contenders for the role Karate Kid: Legends‘ Li Fong, a teenager living in Beijing who moves to New York City with his mother (Ming-Na Wen). In short, the teenager’s transition to the Big Apple is a sour one: Li has trouble fitting in at his new school, and he keeps getting caught up in fights he’d prefer to avoid. According to Sony’s official plot synopsis: “When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren’t enough. Li’s kung fu teacher Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) enlists the original karate kid Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, combining her two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.

But how does Mr. Han know about Daniel LaRusso? What place does Mr. Miyagi (the late Pat Morita) fit in the story? And what is the connection between Legends and Netflix Cobra Kai? EW pressed Wang and Entwistle for answers – politely, of course.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: There have been rumors of another one Karate kid Film with Jackie Chan since 2014. Finally, Sony announced what would ultimately become of it Karate Kid: Legends in 2022. Jonathan, at what point did you become involved in the project?

JONATHAN ENTWISTLE: Well, I was originally sent the script in early 2022. It contained all the parts for Ben’s character Li, but had a very different ending. One of the things that really excited me when I first read it was the idea of ​​connecting the Jackie Chan character of Mr. Han with Daniel LaRusso, both from the films and later from what (his character) has become Cobra Kai. When I first read the script, Cobra Kai was nowhere near as far as it is now. It all germinated at the same time.

Ben, you sent in a tape of yourself for your first audition. Did you demonstrate any martial arts skills in this video?

BEN WANG: I did martial arts. I was actually visiting my mother in China at the time. My mother worked in the country at this school in a rural province, and I got the email on my phone. They said, “They want to see you do martial arts.” So I did the tape in their school gym. (To Jonathan) I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at this and said, “Where the hell is he?” (Laughs)

JE: It was very important that we had someone who could speak Mandarin and do martial arts, and we also wanted someone who was a great actor. These three things are really, really hard to find. We started watching the many, many, many (audition) tapes, and a lot of people could do one or two of the three, but it was really difficult to find the Holy Trinity. When we first saw Ben’s band we thought, “Wow, this kid is in rural China.” We found this guy who’s in the middle of nowhere. Wow, that’s incredible,” only to find out he’s from Minnesota. (Laughs) But that also helped us because Ben could understand the Mandarin and American sides of the story fluently.

Ben, what is your background in martial arts?

BW: The truth is that I have a little experience in many different martial arts, but most of it was done extracurricularly in Taekwondo when I was in elementary school. It was really fun and I had some great teachers, but that’s not really the level that would prepare you for a film like this. The majority of the things you see in the film are what I worked on with the amazing stunt team led by our stunt coordinators Larry Lam and Peng Zhang. I trained with them for about a month and a half before we started filming. We trained five days a week, but on the weekends I practiced alone, so it was just non-stop.

By bringing Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso together, the film establishes that the OG Karate kid and that 2010 Karate kid exist in the same universe, also known as the Miyagi-Verse. Jonathan, how do Mr. Han and Daniel-san come together in this story?

JE: Without giving too much away, I can say that Mr. Han and Mr. Miyagi are the connection to Daniel. The Han family and the Miyagi family have always been connected. And there is a mention of it within the Karate kid Film canon for those who want to search for it.

And how would you describe Jackie Chan’s presence on set?

JE: Aside from being a wonderful person who is very warm-hearted, he is also the type of actor who doesn’t go away. When his day is over, he often sits next to me, next to the DP, telling stories and talking to the actors. Jackie Chan is a movie star, and you don’t see that much anymore. He had the ability to come up with a tiny idea that I would never have thought of – and all of Jackie’s tiny ideas are in the film. He was like the magical Dumbledore to us on set, and that’s how he is in the film.

Can you give me an example of one of his little ideas?

JE: There’s a wonderful fight sequence in the film that I don’t want to give away, and Jackie had the idea of ​​jumping at Ben from a random corner of this room without Ben even knowing where he would be. He wanted to jump from the spot that would have the greatest impact. He was always looking for an opportunity to either roll on the floor, roll across a table, or jump off a staircase – he simply said, “I’ll do that.” None of us ever had a choice. It was like Jackie had an idea and we just filmed it because it was Jackie and it was always going to be great.

Part of the film takes place in New York City, and according to those who saw the teaser at New York Comic-Con, fights break out in very New York locations, such as the subway. Jonathan, how else do you incorporate the city setting into the story?

JE: It’s the idea – in a classic Karate kid Meaning – the fish out of water. Ben’s character Li finds his way around the city and gets caught in the middle of something that will force him to stand up and fight. I was really excited about how we could make New York feel like a character – not just visually, but how can it interact with his feelings and his actions? We put it together by filming on location and recreating some pieces of New York (on the stages). There are many areas that actually have to do with the Manhattan skyline, and you can see little references to this in the film’s poster. It was important that we felt like we were enjoying the action sequences, and fighting and training in the city really gives you joy.

Ben, give us a preview of the most challenging scene you had to shoot.

BW: Our stunt team and the entire crew were so outstanding that for these fight scenes – which are very, very, very difficult to do – they had plans for every eventuality, for everything that needed to be done. They were really long and really hard days, but it never felt impossible. It’s not particularly sexy, but in movies like this it’s really the hardest part when you have to pretend it’s summer but it’s winter and it’s 30 degrees and you’re wearing a t-shirt and Jonathan says: (imitates the director’s British accent) “Right! Do it again. Go back to the ones, start over!” And you freeze, you try really hard to act, and you do 17 takes. And then Jonathan says, “Right, me think we’ll just use the first one.” (Laughs)

JE: Exactly. (Laughs) Our goal was to make something that was both cinematic and action-packed. The fight sequences are really exciting. I hope that when you sit in this theater you are safe.

Jonathan, you were in contact with him Cobra Kai creators throughout production, and we know that this film takes place after the events in the Cobra Kai Series finale. What else can you tell us about it? Karate Kid: Legends connects with the world of Cobra Kai?

JE: I was a big fan of Cobra Kai from the beginning, and that’s one of the reasons why I thought this was such an exciting project. I loved the idea that the films and the series could all be part of one family. I’ve had some really in-depth conversations with him Cobra Kai team about cool things we can do in the film that make the whole thing feel holistic. And obviously, after all these years, Ralph is really, really close Cobra Kaiand they were involved in small steps along the way. Everything we talked about made it into the film in one way or another, either through Ralph or through the conversations. We’re really happy to have added another piece to the overall universe.

Karate Kid: Legends Premiere in the cinema on Friday, May 30, 2025.