Ralph Macchio and Ben Wang, the stars of “Karate Kid: Legends,” brought the art of “wax on, wax off” to Las Vegas. Sony rolled a new trailer of the sequel at CinemaCon, the movie theater trade show that’s currently unfolding at Caesars Palace.
Before Macchio introduced a few scenes with his next-gen costar Wang, the 63-year-old actor said he was “honored to return to theaters again playing Daniel LaRusso.”
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A vibrant drum processional with lantern-bearers and dancers performing fluid kung-fu moves preceded the clips — which were heavy on the film’s legendary third lead, Jackie Chan. Gray hair didn’t slow down the 70-year-old Chan, who proved he still has moves in one impressive kitchen fight sequence with Wang. Sailing across a marble island and teaching his 25-year-old scene partner a thing or two, the athleisure-clad Chan eventually reveals he is in pursuit of Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso to cash in on a promise once made by Mr. Miyagi, the iconic sensei played by the late Pat Morita.
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“Karate Kid: Legends” brings together Macchio, who first portrayed a teenaged LaRusso in the original 1984 film, as well as Chan, who played Mr. Han in 2010’s remake (which featured different characters). “Legends” takes place three years after the final season of “Cobra Kai,” a spinoff sequel in the martial arts-inspired franchise, as a new student named Li Fong (“American Born Chinese” star Ben Wang) becomes the latest protege to Daniel and Mr. Han. Rounding out the cast is Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley and Ming-Na Wen. Jonathan Entwistle (“The End of the F—ing World”) is directing the film from a screenplay by Rob Lieber (“Peter Rabbit”). “Karate Kid: Legends” will land in theaters on May 30.
