Legends Is Avoiding a Cobra Kai Problem That Would Have Ruined Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan's Sequel

Karate Kid: Legends is avoiding an element that would have ruined the legacy sequence that, ironically, is synonymous with Cobra Kai. The story of Karate Kid: Legends will be told in May 2025 and brings together Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan as two pillars of the franchise. While Karate Kid: LegendsThe cast will include franchise newcomers, including Ben Wang as the titular young fighter, Macchio and Chan are undoubtedly the selling points of the legacy sequel that ties together the arcs of Daniel LaRusso and Sr.

Karate Kid: Legends comes as the next step for the franchise after the conclusion of Cobra Kai Season 6, a TV spin-off of the original 1984 film. Interestingly, the connections between Karate Kid: Legends and Cobra Kai are expected to be minimal. Although Macchio was one of the pillars of Cobra Kai Since its inception, the new film has been rumored to take place three years after the TV show. This will allow Karate Kid: Legends be independent in several ways, none being more important than the film avoiding an element that is closely associated with Cobra Kai.

Karate Kid: the tone of the legends is completely different from Cobra Kai

The self-conscious tone is gone

The element in question is Karate Kid: Legends tone. As is evident in the first trailer for Karate: Child: Legendsthe film moves away from the less serious and self-referential tone of Cobra Kai. Although Cobra Kai has been very well received since its inception in 2018, one of the biggest criticisms of the show has been its reliance on somewhat sillier elements, particularly in recent seasons. From the humor that references the silliness of the show's premise to the melodrama that surrounds most of Cobra Kaicharacters, the show certainly doesn't strike a tone that many would consider serious.

Where Karate Kid: Legends is worried, however, it seems that this tone of Cobra Kai has been removed. The film's trailer surprised many because it seemed much more serious than Cobra Kai does, in a way reminiscent of the years 1984 and 2010 The Karate Kid. The action feels grounded, the plot feels more understated than a global karate war, and the intensity of the relationships between Karate Kid: Legends the main characters seem versed in much more realism than the melodrama associated with Cobra Kai.

Karate Kid: Legends that emulated Cobra Kai's tone would have been its undoing

The film was wise to avoid the general Cobra Kai feel

Despite Cobra Kai being rated incredibly well across all six seasons, Karate Kid: Legends I did the right thing by avoiding Cobra Kai'stone. On the one hand, the tone of Cobra Kai It's what makes the show what it is. The show's silliness may receive some criticism, but without the self-referential and almost nonchalant way in which the show treats its plot points, it probably wouldn't have made it past the first season. Therefore, Karate Kid: Legends avoiding that same tone sets you apart from Cobra Kaiall set in the same interconnected universe.

Furthermore, if Karate Kid: Legends had copied Cobra KaiWith the tone altogether, it could be argued that this would prove to be the film's downfall. Feature films from Karate Kid universe have proven to be inherently more serious than Cobra Kaiespecially 2010 The Karate Kid. Merging one of that film's main characters with Macchio's Daniel LaRusso with just a much less serious tone would have robbed the film of its narrative impact. Karate Kid: Legends feeling as serious as you look is a big positive for many, proving that copying Cobra KaIthe humorous tone of wouldn't have worked.

Karate Kid: Legends will still have to deal with comparisons to Cobra Kai

However Karate Kid: Legends'tonal differences of Cobra Kaithe former will undoubtedly still face comparisons with the latter. Because it is located in the same universe as Cobra Kaiaudiences familiar with both will subconsciously compare Karate Kid: Legends with the spin-off show. Be it the fight sequences, the choreography, the aforementioned tone, or how it handles the student-teacher relationship so prevalent in Karate Kid franchise, Legends can't escape from Cobra Kai links.

As such, it is up to filmmakers to differentiate Legends the best they can. By telling a new story with new and familiar characters, the film can differentiate itself from what has come before it. The fight choreography shown in the trailer already looks extremely impressive, suggesting that Karate Kid: Legends can surpass this particular comparison with Cobra Kai. If it can provide compelling character arcs that have never been seen before in the franchise and a strong story, while avoiding Cobra KaiThe meta tone of Karate Kid: Legends can stand alone as another branch of the Karate Kid tree.