Ralph Macchio talks passing torch in ‘Karate Kid: Legends’
Though there had been talk of setting the film before the ending of “Cobra Kai,” the film takes place after the events of the show, which was important for Macchio, he tells the Globe, as he liked where his character’s arc landed at the conclusion of the Netflix series. Thankfully, “just like everything else in this ‘Karate Kid’ universe,” says Macchio, 63, everything worked out. He sees the franchise as having been “blessed from somewhere above for 41 years.”
“We had 65 fun episodes where [LaRusso] kind of acted like a jerk at times to create the Johnny Lawrence redemption and all that stuff, and it was fun and exciting,” Macchio says. “But it was always, ‘What’s the endgame for him?’ And then what would be the next stage, what is that point of his life where he’s kind of at peace, has found balance, is more Miyagi in his own way of dealing with things?”
While fans get to see LaRusso punching and kicking again — his action scenes with Chan’s Han are particularly delightful — director Jonathan Entwistle notes that “Legends” is first and foremost Fong’s story.
“It was very important to me that we weren’t making a ‘Cobra Kai’ film, we weren’t making a Miyagi film. We’re actually making Li Fong’s film,” Entwistle says.
Reprising the core story of outsider underdog overcoming a big bad bully, “Legends” centers Fong’s immigrant experience. Instead of coming to New York as a karate-kicking newbie, Fong is “capable of martial arts from the get-go,” Entwistle says, and more, even beginning the movie as a coach for Joshua Jackson’s Victor, a washed-up boxer trying to save his pizza shop by entering a tournament. (He’s also the dad of Fong’s love interest, Mia, played by Sadie Stanley).
Fong adjusts to New York pretty quickly thanks to his confidence (not to mention mastery of English from his studies in Hong Kong), offering a combination of quirky charm and big-city wisecracking that Entwistle compares to characters like “Spider-Man”’s Peter Parker or Marty McFly in “Back to the Future.”
“And that’s kind of what I wanted from that character, rather than the meek immigrant who’s come somewhere and he’s scared of the big train and all of these things,” Entwistle says.
Entwisle and team went through thousands of audition tapes before finding the right actor for the role. Wang, who was born in Shanghai before his family moved to Minnesota, is fluent in Mandarin and English, and was able to bring both martial arts and acting skills.
Macchio compares Wang to “a young Jackie Chan,” lauding his work ethic and openness on set. He also praised young actors like Wang and the cast of “Cobra Kai” for honoring the franchise’s legacy and doing “their best to carry that torch and lift it up to new levels.”
The movie’s New York setting is new (the film series last came to the East Coast in 1994’s Boston-set “The Next Karate Kid” starring Hilary Swank), but “Legends” stays tethered to its origins. In addition to bringing Chan back as Han, Entwistle says having Macchio’s LaRusso involved was a way to connect with the late Morita’s Miyagi.
“All the iterations have a piece of Daniel in there, and I think Daniel is our connection to Miyagi.”
Entwistle says the “Legends” team “went deep into the vaults to find different cuts, different scans,” and other sequences from “The Karate Kid II” for an opening sequence featuring Morita and a much younger Macchio, establishing Miyagi’s connection to Han and his family. Chan and Macchio’s characters later have a moving scene centered around their links to Miyagi.
“I looked at the screen and I thought, ‘I can see a 17-year-old boy again,’” Entwistle says. ” [I]t’s just the power of movies and the power of filmmaking, but also the power of Daniel LaRusso. It lives through generations. And the minute we turned over on that scene, you could see him again as if he was sitting in front of Miyagi.”
As for what keeps the “Karate Kid” world kicking after all of these years, Entwistle believes it still resonates with viewers because of its “big heart” and timeless themes of mentorship and that “hard work pays off.”
Even going back to the first film, Macchio says “it always worked on a human level,” noting how fans can relate to the “coming of age elements” and story lines of overcoming bullies and other obstacles.
“We were all that kid,” Macchio says.
“[It’s been the gift that keeps on giving and a character for me that resonates with young kids today in a positive way,” he adds. “So in a world that is not always so positive, to be on the upside of that feels pretty good at my age.”
“Karate Kid: Legends” opens in theaters May 30.
Matt Juul can be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com.
