At the end of an international search that attracted tens of thousands of applications, we now know the identity of the next karate kid: it is Ben Wang, star of the series Chinese Americanon Disney+.
In November, Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio – stars of the franchise Karate Kid – had launched a “global distribution search” on social networks to find the performer of the next karate kid. They invited young men aged 15 to 17 of Chinese ancestry, speaking English and practicing martial arts, to send their applications.
A call to American distribution agencies would ultimately have been enough: the production set its sights on actor Ben Wang, 24, who played Jin Wang in the Chinese Americanbroadcast in 2023 on Disney+.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Wang was chosen from tens of thousands of applications, including 10,000 received in the first 24 hours. It was his mastery of Mandarin and martial arts that convinced the casting team.
In the upcoming film, directed by Jonathan Entwistle, Ralph Macchio will reprise the role he played in the original trilogy (1984, 1986, 1989) – that of Daniel LaRusso. Jackie Chang will play Master Mr. Han, a character he played in the remake released in 2010.
According to The Montreal Journal, the film will be shot in Montreal starting in April. It is scheduled to hit theaters on December 13, 2024.