The Karate Kid
Created by	Robert Mark Kamen
Original work	The Karate Kid (1984)
Owners	Columbia Pictures Sony Pictures Television (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Years	1984–present
Films and television
Film(s)	The Karate Kid (1984) The Karate Kid Part II (1986) The Karate Kid Part III (1989) The Next Karate Kid (1994) The Karate Kid (2010) Karate Kid: Legends (2025)
Television series	Cobra Kai (2018–2025)
Animated series	The Karate Kid (1989)
Games
Video game(s)	The Karate Kid Part II: The Computer Game (1986) The Karate Kid (1987) Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues (2020) Cobra Kai: Card Fighter (2021) Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising (2022)
Audio
Soundtrack(s)	The Karate Kid The Karate Kid Part II The Karate Kid Part III The Next Karate Kid The Karate Kid Cobra Kai: Season 1 Cobra Kai: Season 2 Cobra Kai: Season 3
Miscellaneous
Character(s)	List of characters

The Karate Kid is an Americanmartial artsdrama franchise created byRobert Mark Kamen. The series follows the journey of various coming-of-age teenagers who are taught in the ways ofmartial arts by an experienced mentor in order to stand up for themselves after being bullied or assert their dominance towards others.

The original film series began as atrilogy, starting with the release ofThe Karate Kid (1984), after the success of which two direct sequels were produced:The Karate Kid Part II (1986) andThe Karate Kid Part III (1989). In 1994, a standalone sequel with a new protagonist,The Next Karate Kid, was released. In 2010,a remake with a similar storyline but with a different set of characters, was released. Despite maintaining the original title, the film focused onkung fu, being set in China. A sixth film,Karate Kid: Legends, withJackie Chan andRalph Macchio reprising their original roles from the previous films, was released in 2025.This releaseretconned the 2010 film, placing it in the samefictional universe of the original films.

Cobra Kai (2018–2025) offers a continuation of the story that begins in the original films three decades later. While directly based on Kamen's characters, Josh Heald,Jon Hurwitz andHayden Schlossberg created this series.

An animated series, as well as tie-in video games among other pieces of merchandise, have also been released alongside the films.

Daniel LaRusso and his mother have just moved toReseda, Los Angeles fromNewark, New Jersey at the start of the school year. Befriending classmate Ali Mills, he comes into conflict with Ali's ex-boyfriend and star pupil of the "Cobra Kai" dojo Johnny Lawrence and his gang. After being beaten up by the Cobra Kai gang in an after-school fight, Daniel finds an unlikely friend and karate sensei in his apartment complex's handyman, Mr. Miyagi, a proficient karate master. Making a deal with Johnny's merciless sensei, John Kreese, to end the fighting, Miyagi trains Daniel to compete at the All-Valley Karate Tournament.

Immediately following the All-Valley Karate Tournament, Johnny is attacked by his furious sensei, John Kreese, in the parking lot. Mr. Miyagi intervenes, rescuing Johnny and passively humiliating Kreese in the process. Six months later, Miyagi receives a letter about his ailing father and plans to return to his home village onOkinawa Island. With Daniel in tow, Miyagi's past catches up with him as an old rivalry with a former friend is reignited.

Six months after the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament, a down-and-out John Kreese visits hisVietnam War comrade, rich businessman Terry Silver. Silver sends Kreese on vacation toTahiti, promising to re-establish the Cobra Kai dojo and get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. Meanwhile, Daniel and Miyagi have returned home from Okinawa to find Daniel's apartment building being demolished and his mother back in New Jersey taking care of a sick relative; Miyagi invites Daniel to stay with him. When Miyagi refuses to train Daniel to defend his title at the tournament, Daniel happens across Silver who offers to train him Cobra Kai-style.

Mr. Miyagi (the only character from the previous films to return) travels toBoston, Massachusetts in order to attend a commemorative service for theJapanese-American soldiers who fought in the442nd Infantry Regiment inWorld War II. While there, he reacquaints with Louisa Pierce, the widow of his commanding officer. Louisa introduces him to his rebellious teenage granddaughter Julie, whose anger issues – resulting from her parents' deaths – make life difficult for Louisa. Offering to help, Miyagi sends Louisa to his home in Los Angeles for respite while he works to mentor Julie. Julie initially rebuffs Miyagi's help, but warms to him after coming into conflict with the leader of her school's shady security fraternity, Ned.

In this remake of the 1984 film (laterretconned, placing it in the samefictional universe of the original films), Dre Parker and his mother move fromDetroit toBeijing after she transfers jobs from a car factory in the city. He befriends Meiying, a young musician who goes to his school, but draws the unwanted attention of Cheng, a kung fu prodigy whose family is close to Meiying's. Cheng and his friends relentlessly bully Dre at school to keep him away from Meiying, resulting in a fight on a school field trip where Dre is beaten up before being saved by his apartment building's maintenance man, Mr. Han. After failing to end the bullying by talking with Cheng and students's ruthless kung fu teacher Li, Mr. Han agrees to train Dre to compete at the upcoming open kung fu Tournament and defeat Cheng.

The film was originally said to be a Karate Kid film that the characters in the original films and in the Cobra Kai series would have watched, essentially a film made inside the Karate Kid universe instead of made about the said universe. The subsequent film Karate Kid Legends retconned this idea and tied it back into the main Karate Kid film series.

A sequel to both the 2010 film and the original films, Mr. Han’s great-nephew and student Li Fong moves from Beijing to New York City with his mother after the death of his brother in a kung fu-related attack. Li befriends Mia Lipani, daughter of pizza shop owner and former local boxing champion Victor Lipani, bringing him into conflict with Mia’s ex-boyfriend Connor Day, a local karate champion. Li trains Victor in kung fu to aid him in a boxing match to pay off his debts, but following Victor's illegal defeat he decides to enter the Five Boroughs Karate Tournament with Mr. Han's encouragement. Mr. Han visits Daniel LaRusso and invites him to New York to train Li in both karate and kung fu for the Five Boroughs.

In thisanimatedchildren's television series, a miniature shrine with mystical properties has been stolen from its resting place in Okinawa. Joined by Taki Tamurai, Daniel and Mr. Miyagi are tasked with locating it and returning it home, traveling the globe on a series of adventures. The characters were not voiced by the original film actors, although Pat Morita voiced the opening narration.

With regard toCobra Kai, executive producer and co-creator Jon Hurwitz revealed the animated series is not canon,^[1] however the shrine from the series appeared as aneaster egg inChozen Toguchi's Okinawa dojo during the third season ofCobra Kai.^[2]

34 years after the1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament, a down-and-outJohnny Lawrence, now in his 50s, has just lost his job. After getting arrested for rescuing his teenage neighbor Miguel Diaz from a group of bullies, then getting cut-loose and disowned by his stepfather, Johnny agrees to teach Miguel karate and reopens the Cobra Kai dojo, attracting social outcasts who build their self-confidence under his unorthodox tutelage. Meanwhile,Daniel LaRusso owns a successful chain of car dealerships and is happily married to his wife Amanda but struggles to keep a balanced life without the guidance of his now-deceased mentor, Mr. Miyagi. Johnny's estranged and troubled son, Robby Keene, hoping to get back at his father, comes under Daniel's wing – initially not knowing Robby's parentage – giving Robby a job at his car dealership and teaching him Miyagi-Do karate. Daniel and Johnny come into conflict after Cobra Kai's return is made public, while Daniel's daughter Samantha gets caught in the middle.

According to Josh Heald,Jon Hurwitz, andHayden Schlossberg, the only characters that they would explore in the series were ones who featured in the first four films. The creatives stated that they internally reference these characters as a part of the "Miyagi-verse", and explained that they are those who interacted directly with Mr. Miyagi.^[3]

•  ^F indicates a performer stood in as a character's body-double for fight sequences.

The Karate Kid is a semi-autobiographical story based on the life of its screenwriter,Robert Mark Kamen. At age 17, after the1964 New York World's Fair, Kamen was beaten up by a gang of bullies. He thus began to study martial arts in order to defend himself.^[4] Kamen was unhappy with his first teacher, who taught martial arts as a tool for violence and revenge. He moved on to studyOkinawanGōjū-ryū karate under a Japanese teacher who did not speak English, but was himself a student ofChōjun Miyagi.^[4]

As a Hollywood screenwriter, Kamen was mentored byFrank Price who told him that producerJerry Weintraub had optioned a news article about the young child of a single mother who had earned a black belt to defend himself against the neighborhood bullies. Kamen then combined his own life story with the news article and used both to create the screenplay forThe Karate Kid.^[4] Additionally, givenJohn G. Avildsen's involvement with both films,Sylvester Stallone often joked with Kamen that the writer had "ripped off" theRocky films withThe Karate Kid.^[4]

DC Comics hada character called Karate Kid, who was created in 1966. The filmmakers received special permission from DC Comics in 1984 to use the title for the first film and subsequent sequels.^[5]

A number of actors were considered for the part ofDaniel LaRusso (originally Daniel Weber),^[4] includingSean Penn,^[5]Robert Downey Jr.,Charlie Sheen,Jon Cryer,^[6]Emilio Estevez,Nicolas Cage,Anthony Edwards,C. Thomas Howell,Tom Cruise,Eric Stoltz, andD. B. Sweeney.^[4]Ralph Macchio was ultimately cast on the strength of his performance as Johnny Cade inThe Outsiders (1983).^[4] Macchio has stated that his performance as Johnny influenced the development of Daniel LaRusso inThe Karate Kid.^[7][8]

The studio originally wanted the role ofMr. Miyagi to be played byToshiro Mifune, who had appeared in theAkira Kurosawa filmsRashomon (1950),Seven Samurai (1954), andThe Hidden Fortress (1958), but Mifune did not speak English.^[4]Pat Morita later auditioned for the role, but was rejected for the part due to his close association with stand-up comedy and with his character Arnold on the sitcomHappy Days.^[4] After a few failed attempts, Morita grew a beard and patterned his accent after his uncle, which led to him being cast in the role.^[9]

In a 2020 interview withCollider,William Zabka revealed that Pat Morita pitched him an idea in 2005, for a fifth film. The plot would have revolved around Johnny Lawrence who is now adoctor and tasked withcaregiving for Mr. Miyagi; who is in the final stages of his life and whose health is failing him. During the early days of development, Morita died and the project was abandoned.^[10]

In January 2022,Ralph Macchio revealed that he had previously been approached in 2012 about the potential for aThe Karate Kid andRockycrossover film. Intended to be directed byJohn G. Avildsen, the plot would have involvedDaniel LaRusso's daughter and Rocky Balboa, Jr. opening adojo together. Macchio stated that he andMilo Ventimiglia were pitched the idea, but described the concept as "awful". After Macchio expressed his disinterest in the story, the project subsequently fell intodevelopment hell before being abandoned in favor ofCreed andCobra Kai.^[11]

The franchise as a whole has been a box office success.

Except for the 1984 and 2010 films, the other films in the franchise received mixed or negative reviews.Cobra Kai received a consistently positive reception.

The series has been credited for popularizingKarate in the United States.^[51][52]

In January 2020, aBroadwaymusical adaptation ofThe Karate Kid was revealed to be in development.Amon Miyamoto serves as director, with an accompanying novel being written by the original film's screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen.Drew Gasparini serves as thelyricist andcomposer of thescore, while Keone & Mari Madridchoreograph the play. Kumiko Yoshii, Michael Wolk serve as producers, with The Kinoshita Group. The cast includes Jovanni Sy as Mr. Miyagi, John Cardoza as Daniel LaRusso,Kate Baldwin as Lucille LaRusso, Alan H. Green as John Kreese, Jake Bentley Young as Johnny Lawrence, Jetta Juriansz as Ali Mills and Luis-Pablo Garcia as Freddie Fernandez.^[53] The opening date has yet to be announced.^[54]

The film spawned a franchise of related items and memorabilia such as action figures, head bands, posters, and T-shirts. A novelization was written byB. B. Hiller and published in 1984. The novel had a scene that was in the rehearsal when Daniel encounters Johnny during school at lunch. Also at the end, there was a battle between Miyagi and Kreese in the parking lot after the tournament which was the original ending for the film and used as the beginning ofThe Karate Kid Part II. Hiller would also write novelizations for the second and third films. A storybook based on the second film, written by Christopher Brown, was also released.^[55] On May 7, 2019,The Karate Kid: The Classic Illustrated Storybook was published byQuirk Books under their Pop Classics series. It retold the events of the first film with art by Kim Smith.

In 2015, toy companyFunko revived The Karate Kid action figures. Two versions of character Daniel Larusso, a version of character Johnny Lawrence and a version of Mr. Miyagi were part of the line. The toys were spotted at retailersTarget andAmazon.com.^[56]

In 2021 and 2022, the toy companyPlaymates Toys released a series of crossoverTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vs. Cobra Kai two packs which featured two action figures, one character from each respective franchise, in opposition to each other.^[57]

In 2023, the toy companyHasbro released a series ofPower Rangers X Cobra Kai crossover action figures that tied characters of both franchises together. Cobra Kai characters like Daniel Larusso and Johnny Lawrence wore ninja outfits similar to the Ninjetti/Ninja Mode costumes fromMighty Morphin Power Rangers'1995 film and third season, while Putty Patrollers wore skeleton Halloween costumes like those worn by the Cobra Kai gang as seen in the first Karate Kid film.^[58]

In 2023,Asmodee released the board gameCobra Kai: Road to Victory.^[59]

A video game loosely based on the first two films was developed byAtlus and published byLJN for theNintendo Entertainment System in 1987. A video game based on the second film, titledThe Karate Kid Part II: The Computer Game, was released in 1986.

Amobile game based on the 2010 film was released foriOS devices by Sony Pictures on April 2, 2010.^[60]

Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues, a video game based on the television seriesCobra Kai, was released forPlayStation 4,Xbox One, andNintendo Switch in October 2020,^[61] while Microsoft Windows version was released in January 2021.

A mobile game entitledCobra Kai: Card Fighter was released on iOS and Android devices in March 2021.^[62]

A sequel toCobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues developed by Flux Games and published by GameMill Entertainment titledCobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising was released on November 8, 2022, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5, Windows viaSteam, Xbox One, andXbox Series X/S.^[63]

Characters and elements fromCobra Kai have appeared in theRoblox experienceNetflix Nextworld.^[64]

On September 20, 2024, a 2D sprite-art-basedbeat 'em up game based on the original film trilogy, titledThe Karate Kid: Street Rumble, was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and Windows via Steam.^[65]

A 4-issuecomic book miniseries entitledCobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues - Johnny's Story was published byIDW Publishing and released between October 2019 and January 2020,^[66] and was subsequently collected in trade paperback on July 8, 2020.^[67]It was written by Denton J. Tipton, with art by Kagan McLeod and colors by Luis Antonio Delgado.

In 2022,Ralph Macchio published the memoirWaxing On: The Karate Kid and Me (Dutton), in which he reflects upon the making of and legacy of theKarate Kid films andCobra Kai.^[68]Also in 2022, the behind-the-scenes bookThe Kick-A** Book of Cobra Kai was written by Rachel Bertsche and published byHarperCollins.^[69]

• The Karate Kid atIMDb 
• The Karate Kid Part II atIMDb 
• The Karate Kid Part III atIMDb 
• The Karate Kid (TV series) atIMDb 
• The Next Karate Kid atIMDb 
• The Karate Kid (2010) atIMDb 
• Cobra Kai atIMDb 
• "The Karate Kid" 30th Anniversary Panel Discussion, Q+A—sponsored by theJapanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, September 9, 2014.
• The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai -Reunited Apart, December 21, 2020
• Ralph Macchio on His Friend and 'Karate Kid' Costar Pat Morita: His Legacy 'Shines Brighter Than Ever' -People, November 6, 2022

• The Karate Kid (franchise)
• American film series
• Columbia Pictures franchises
• Film franchises
• Film series introduced in 1984
• Films adapted into television shows
• Martial arts film series
• Sony Pictures franchises
• Sony Pictures Television franchises

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