Now That Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han Is Back, Cobra Kai’s Missing Karate Kid Character Is Even Harder To Ignore

Jackie Chan’s shock return as Hr. Han in Karate Kid: Legends continues the trend set in motion by Cobra Kai of bringing back characters from the series’ classic era, but Mr. Han’s comeback also highlights one of the legacy sequel show’s biggest absences who made their franchise debut in 1994. Chan’s role in the Karate Kid: Legends cast is arguably as meta as it is exciting, as he first played Mr. Han in the 2010 then-remake of the original 1984 movie. So, although it originally made sense why he never appeared in Cobra Kai, now he seems like a glaring omission.

With all the Karate Kid movies now all being set in the Miyagi-verse, the franchise no longer has two branches. Instead, it’s now just one big saga. The franchise has managed to make the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai timeline feel far more cohesive thanks to the sequel show’s obsessive willingness to acknowledge the legacy characters from its universe. Chan’s 2010 effort was perhaps the most unexpected installment for the franchise to revisit, especially since there’s still one movie that has been almost completely ignored.

The Next Karate Kid Is The Only Movie Left For The Franchise To Revisit

Julie Pierce still hasn’t had a Karate Kid franchise comeback

Cobra Kai functions brilliantly as a self-contained narrative, as flashback sequences and archive footage essentially make the Karate Kid movies optional viewing. It’s better to have also seen the films, but it’s not strictly necessary to do so. Alongside Cobra Kai‘s original characters and storylines, the show has continuously tapped into the original movie trilogy with Ralph Macchio and brought familiar faces back into the fold. However, 1994’s The Next Karate Kid replaced Macchio with Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce and the failed fourth movie has been left out in the cold.

Now that Jackie Chan’s story is being revisited 15 years after its debut, skipping over The Next Karate Kid seems very much like an intentional move rather than anything else. Macchio’s trilogy and Chan’s 2010 movie now all feel like they’re part of the same continuity, but The Next Karate Kid seems pretty much on the cusp of being softly de-canonized. Sure, it’s not a great movie, but Macchio’s first two sequels also had incredibly weak elements, and Cobra Kai validated them by giving them a chance not afforded to The Next Karate Kid.

Will Hilary Swank’s Julie Appear In Cobra Kai’s Final Episodes?

Time is running out for Swank’s potential Cobra Kai cameo

The only significant way for Cobra Kai to give The Next Karate Kid some attention is to bring back Swank before the show ends. There has been a small nod to Swank’s Karate Kid movie in Cobra Kai season 6, with Mr. Miyagi’s first name differing from the one established in the original trilogy. Instead, it’s listed as his name in The Next Karate Kid. So, the “incorrect” name on Mr. Miyagi’s passport in Cobra Kai could just be a Next Karate Kid Easter Egg, or it could be a perfect way to set up a last-minute Hilary Swank cameo.

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Karate Kid: Legends Is Continuing A Cobra Kai Tradition That Made The Franchise So Much Better

The Karate Kid franchise dates back to the first movie in 1984, and the upcoming legacy sequel is repeating its spinoff’s most redeeming quality.

The Cobra Kai cast and crew have been very coy and largely tip-lipped about a Hilary Swank comeback, but the consensus seems to be that it won’t happen. That being said, Hollywood is great at being deceptive with these kinds of things, so it could still take place. On the other hand, with Cobra Kai season 6 preparing to wrap up, and Karate Kid: Legends set for release, the focus will be other storylines, so there’s unlikely to be enough time to include a Julie cameo and introduce her to the other franchise characters.

Cobra Kai

Release Date

2018 – 2024

Network

Netflix, YouTube Premium

Showrunner

Jon Hurwitz

Stream

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