It may have been a bummer to hear that one of Netflix’s best shows, Cobra Kai’s, sixth season will be its last. However, it doesn’t mean this will be the last we see of Daniel LaRusso or Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han for that matter. With the franchise’s sixth movie Karate Kid: Legends coming to theaters this summer, my mind was officially blown when I found out how the character of Mr. Han fits himself into the Miyagi-verse.
When the Karate Kid remake first came out in 2010, I assumed this would be a franchise of its own since Daniel was renamed Dre (played by Jaden Smith) and he learned Kung Fu in China from Jackie Chan's Mr. Han. But after it was announced that a new Karate Kid movie would bring together the old franchise with the new, with Jackie Chan reprising his iconic role, that must mean there’s a connection to bring back Dre’s instructor. If you’re curious just how much of a connection Mr. Han has to the Miyagi-verse, Karate Kid: Legends director Jonathan Entwistle answers that question to EW and prepare for your mind to be blown like mine:
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 are connected all the way back to the old times. And there is a mention of this within the Karate Kid movie canon for those people who want to go looking for it.
Hold the phone— when was there a mention of Mr. Han in the Karate Kid movies? Am I going to have to rewatch all of the films to find the answer? I’m truly curious about the history between Mr. Han and Mr. Miyagi. After all, Mr. Han taught Kung Fu to Dre and Mr. Miyagi taught Daniel karate. But Cobra Kai has done a great job refreshing or introducing concepts of the previous films to fans through the art of flashbacks. So, something tells me Karate Kid 6 ought to do the same thing to better explain the connection between the two teachers and what tidbit has escaped our minds after all of these years.
A couple of years ago, Cobra Kai boss Jon Hurwitz clarified the connection between his popular Netflix series and the new Karate Kid movie wouldn’t have a focus on the series’s cast. While maybe the young cast will have reached their conclusion in the upcoming series finale, Ralph Macchio being involved in the martial arts drama film shows the story of Daniel LaRusso isn’t over yet. Jonathan Entwistle continues to talk about how the upcoming 2025 movie will tie in with Cobra Kai:
I have been a huge fan of Cobra Kai right from the beginning, and that's one of the reasons that I thought this was such an exciting project. I was excited about the idea that the films and the series can all be part of one family. I've had some really detailed conversations with the Cobra Kai team about just cool stuff that we can do in the movie and can make this whole thing feel holistic. And obviously, Ralph is really, really close to it after all those years on Cobra Kai, and they've been involved in little steps along the way. Everything we talked about made it into the movie in some way or other, either through Ralph or through the conversations. We’re really excited that we've added another piece to the overall universe.
The Karate Kid cast’s return in Cobra Kai over three decades later successfully brought together fans of the old and new generation. Sony’s interesting plot of the sixth movie follows Bejing-based teenager Li Fong, who moves to New York City with his mother only to get pulled into fights at school. When a new friend of his needs help, Mr. Han enlists Daniel LaRusso to help Li Fong merge Kung Fu and karate to assist him in winning a tournament.
Karate Kid 6's synopsis leaves me with a lot of questions like how Mr. Han and Daniel know each other and where Mr. Miyagi fits into this. Now I’m curious if Cobra Kai’s final scene will include a cliffhanging teaser that ties in with Mr. Han and the future Karate Kid film.
I never would have guessed that Mr. Han’s connection with the Miyagi-verse was somehow mentioned in the franchise. This is a head-scratcher, for sure, but I’m sure all will be revealed when Karate Kid: Legends hits theaters on May 30th. Before you see Daniel and Mr. Han share the big screen together, you can see Ralph Macchio’s memorable character make his Netflix farewell in Cobra Kai: Part Three coming to your Netflix subscription on February 13th.
