Jackie Chan in Talks for New Karate Kid Movie

Jackie Chan and Sony Pictures are kicking around ideas for the next Karate Kid movie. Discussing Film reports the 69-year-old martial arts legend is in talks to reprise his role as a Mr. Miyagi-type teacher in Sony’s untitled Karate Kid movie that the studio dated for June 7th, 2024. Columbia’s 2010 remake of The Karate Kid stars Chan as maintenance man Mr. Han, who teaches bullied 12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) the art of Kung Fu after his family relocates to China. It’s unknown if Smith, 24, is also returning for the 14-years-later Karate Kid follow-up.

Little is known about the new Karate Kid movie that Sony has described as “the return of the original Karate Kid franchise.” 1984’s Karate Kid starred Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, who trains under Pat Morita’s maintenance man and Karate master Mr. Miyagi. The original film spawned three sequels — 1986’s The Karate Kid Part II, 1989’s The Karate Kid Part III, and 1994’s The Next Karate Kid — and the decades-later sequel TV series Cobra Kai, where Macchio and William Zabka reprised their roles as rivals Daniel and Johnny Lawrence. In 2010, Sony’s Columbia Pictures rebooted the movie franchise with Chan and Smith’s re-imagining that grossed $359.1 million globally against a budget of $40 million.

It’s unclear how Chan’s Mr. Han might fit into what the Cobra Kai creators have dubbed the original “Miyagi-verse.” In 2021, series co-creator Jon Hurwitz said of a potential crossover with the universe of The Karate Kid remake: “We’ve ruled that out completely,” Hurwitz told /Film. “Jackie Chan is mentioned in season 1 of [Cobra Kai] as a human, so I think in our world, Jackie Chan is an actor and a performer.”

“There’s kind of this Karate Kid Cinematic Universe now where Cobra Kaiis at the center of that and when [the show ends], there are other areas to draw from,” Macchio previously told ComicBook. “Is there a Miyagi origin story? Is there a Cobra Kai prequel before The Karate Kid? Is there spin-offs with some of the young cast of these characters? Whoknows? But we’re not done as long as we’re given the opportunity toreally bring it in. As long as it evolves organically, these guys thatwrite the show really have their finger on the pulse of that.”

Jonathan Entwistle — behind Netflix’s The End of the F***ing World and I Am Not Okay With This — is directing the new movie. Cast, plot, and other details remain under wraps. The untitled Karate Kid is scheduled to open in theaters June 7th, 2024.