Sony recently announced a new Karate Kid movie following five successful seasons of Cobra Kai on Netflix. Of course, this news has resulted in a lot of speculation. Now, Cobra Kai co-creator, Jon Hurwitz, says that the movie isn’t related to the series. Hurwitz stated in a tweet:

So if the new Karate Kid movie at Sony isn’t Hurwitz, Josh Heald, or Hayden Schlossberg’s, then whose is it? Cobra Kai was originally produced by Sony for YouTube TV. After that banner shuttered its original narrative content platforms, the series moved to Netflix and enjoys the Nielsen rating-dominating success it does today. It makes sense that Sony would want to run with the Karate Kid-verse right now, all the way to the movie theater, but it is so surprising that the movie has nothing to do with the beloved and acclaimed series Cobra Kai. There are no stars or producers currently attached to the new project. At least encouraging is Hurwitz’s assurance that the team hopes to make a Cobra Kai movie someday in the future.

“The guys and I would love to make Karate Kid and Cobra Kai movies and hope to someday. But this one isn’t from us or focused on the Cobra Kai cast. Don’t know much about it, but wish it well.”

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A Modern Reboot of the Karate Kid Film Franchise

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The first and most obvious possibility is that the movie is, in fact, a Cobra Kai film and that Jon Hurwitz is just messing with us, taunting us, throwing us off the scent of his team’s epic upcoming and big screen project. We have no proof of this and can only hope. It seems the most logical though unfounded explanation, however, since we know that the Cobra Kai producing team is 100% behind the idea of making a movie and that the current moment in the series would be perfect for one.

The Miyagi-Do/Eagle Fang alliance is about to go international with their teaching style, methodology, and skill by competing in the most significant karate tournament on the globe, one that an American unit has never entered. A movie would be perfect for this tightly-knit and epic scope of future events. These points have fans everywhere eagerly asking Sony and Hurwitz, “are you guys sure this isn’t a Cobra Kai movie?”

The next, but most genuinely unlikely possibility, is that the movie is a full reboot of the original Karate Kid. While Sony is busy hyping up its stunning Karate Kid continuation, it doesn’t make much sense to begin a new branch of its universe with a fresh start that goes back to the beginning. Since it’s 2022, however, we know that anything is possible. A third storyline could be that it’s a modern-day karate tale, with new characters, in a new environment. This is likely, as a standalone karate movie with new characters and cast highlighting important modern themes and struggles could be very well received.

A Chozen-Focused Story

Another possibility is that the 2024 movie is a spin-off with one or some of the Cobra Kai characters on their own. Maybe Chozen is getting a standalone movie. It could go back in time to his journey from the big bad guy who tried to kill Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid: Part II to the lovable and courageous Chozen we all know and love in Cobra Kai. Because of his triumphant return to Cobra Kai, Chozen is a character everyone loves, so many fans would be interested in this movie.

A Mr. Miyagi Origin Story

     Columbia Pictures

In that same vein, and this is the most likely storyline, we could be looking forward to a Mr. Miyagi origin story about his time in the war and his experiences with his lost wife and child. That could be a great addition to the Karate Kid-verse. It wouldn’t interfere with any of the Karate Kid projects Sony is running now but would only add even more weight and value to the Miyagi-Do legacy.

His past was a traumatic one, and he overcame it as best he could through his discipline, unwavering optimism, and openness and eventually committed to training LaRusso.

On that note, the least likely character this movie could possibly focus on is Hilary Swank’s character from The New Karate Kid. This would be a heavy and iconic return for her character, and something everybody would be excited about, but it does seem that for the time being Swank has put this section of her career behind her.

Release Date

Whatever it turns out to be, the new Karate Kid movie will be released on June 7th, 2024. We look forward to getting more details very soon!