Cobra Kai is the biggest thing to happen to the Karate Kid franchise since the first movie hit in 1984, so here’s how new movie Karate Kid Legends manages to sneakily connect film with show.
For much of its runtime, Karate Kid Legends has little do do with Netflix smash Cobra Kai. Instead, the film revolves around a Chinese kid called Li Fong, who moves with his mom from Beijing to New York.
His journey is then pretty similar to original Karate Kid protagonist Daniel LaRusso’s, with Li meeting a girl, falling for her, getting bullied by her ex, and fighting him in a karate tournament.
There’s also a lengthy sub-plot that features Joshua Jackson as a boxer-turned-pizza parlour proprietor who is forced back into the fight game, meaning there’s little in the way of Cobra Kai action – or that very specific brand of humor – until Karate Kid Legends finally goes there. So SPOILERS ahead.
The Johnny Lawrence cameo no one saw coming
Once the boxing storyline is complete – at about the 50-minute mark – Daniel LaRusso is introduced to proceedings, and Karate Kid Legends delivers on the promise of its premise.
Daniel agrees to help Mr. Han train Li for the big fight, and while their styles and philosophies are slightly different – anchored as they are in karate and kung fu – they are nevertheless two cultures, martial arts, and branches from the same tree.
There’s discussion of Fong’s opponent fighting like a tiger, and needing tiger-like tactics to counter him. This would’ve been a good opportunity to introduce Karate Kid villain and Cobra Kai hero Johnny Lawrence, aka the man who invented Eagle Fang Karate. Alas, that wasn’t to be.
But with LaRusso and Han’s help, Fong wins the fight, and in the process, helps to save the aforementioned pizza parlour.
Li then sends one of those pizzas all the way to Daniel in California as a way of saying thank you, via a message that states, “If you ever need my help, you know where to find me.”
NetflixThen the big reveal… Johnny is over at Daniel’s place, and none-too-impressed with the idea of New York pizza. Though it does give him the idea to open his own parlour called ‘Miyagi-Dough,’ with Lawrence throwing around lines like “olives on, olives off,” and “slice first, slice hard, and no anchovies,” which is pretty much how the movie ends.
This means that as well as Cobra Kai’s best character making a fleeting appearance during the Karate Kid Legends conclusion, the scene also introduces some of his dumb and cynical sense of humor into a film that had been pretty earnest until that point.
It’s a fitting cameo that stays true to his Cobra Kai character, and perhaps sets up a proper crossover should a sequel ever happen.
The new movie is in UK cinemas now and hits US screens on May 30, 2025, meaning you can now read our Karate Kid Legends ending explainer, plus how the movie connects Mr. Miyagi to Mr. Han.
For more fast fists, check out our list of the best action movies ever, while these are Dexerto’s picks for shows to watch if you love Cobra Kai, plus our thoughts on the only way Cobra Kai can continue.
