When Karate Kid: Legends Takes Place In The Timeline

Karate Child: Legends is the most recent installment within the Karate Child franchise, releasing shortly after Cobra Kai completed its six-season run on Netflix. The Karate Child sequence has remained alive for the reason that unique 1984 movie starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. The movie led to a trilogy adopted by 1994’s The Subsequent Karate Child, a sequel starring Hilary Swank. In 2010, the sequence was rebooted with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, introducing kung fu into the franchise’s canon.

In 2018, a lot of the unique solid returned for Cobra Kai, a Netflix sequence that includes the return of Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence as they prepare a brand new technology of scholars. Cobra Kai aired its finale in February 2025, however that wasn’t the top of the franchise. Legends premiered on Could 30, introducing Li Fong as the following prodigy inside the Karate Child universe. Whereas the movie was launched just a few months after Cobra Kai’s ending, it takes place a couple of years after the present’s finale.

Karate Child: Legends Takes Place 3 Years After Cobra Kai’s Ending

Legends Is A New Story That is Utterly Separate From The Netflix Sequence

Legends unites Chan’s Mr. Han and Macchio’s LaRusso for the primary time, bringing collectively Han’s college of kung fu with Daniel’s Miyagi-Do. Daniel has been instructing Miyagi-Do for a number of years because of Cobra Kai, however he seems to be barely completely different in Legends. He has an extended haircut and appears to be at a unique level in his life from the Cobra Kai finale. In accordance with Macchio, there may be an evidence for that. Talking with Selection, Macchio stated that Legends takes place “three years” after Cobra Kai, since Macchio needed to ensure it match with Daniel’s journey.

“It was not a fast determination, as a result of it was about defending the Daniel LaRusso character, and discovering the place he can be at that time, after which defending the entire legacy within the Miyagi-verse. As soon as we have been in a position to line that up, for the Cobra Kai story to steer into the brand new movie — despite the fact that they’re separate ecosystems — all of it made sense for me. Then, working with Jackie was simply tremendous thrilling. I began this on the massive display screen. How cool is it to get it again to the massive display screen?”

Whereas the movie is after the Netflix sequence, it has virtually no connection to it, apart from a fast cameo from Johnny on the movie’s ending. It is by no means talked about by Daniel, so audiences who’ve by no means seen Cobra Kai will not miss something. Nevertheless, followers of the sequence could also be upset that the movie basically ignores the present’s occasions.

Karate Child: Legends Takes Place in 2023 Primarily based On The Timeline

The Movie Would Take Place Three Years From When Cobra Kai Ended Canonically

Whereas Cobra Kai aired from 2018-2025, the present by no means adopted that timeline. The sequence did not embody important time jumps in between seasons, as it could typically decide up straight from when the final season ended. Plus, most of the youthful characters are in highschool, they usually do not graduate till the sequence finale. Season 6’s Sekai Taikai takes place in 2020, which means the present really ended 5 years earlier than its actual premiere date.

Since Legends takes place three years after Cobra Kai‘s ending, this implies the movie is about in 2023. Maybe this explains why Cobra Kai is not referenced within the movie. The youthful characters like Miguel, Robbie, Tory, and Samantha may very well be at drastically completely different factors of their lives, and the movie must fill within the gaps for individuals who have seen the sequence. It is best to maintain the give attention to Li for now, and presumably usher in different Cobra Kai characters later.

How Lengthy After The 2010 Film Does Karate Child: Legends Take Place?

There’s A Vital Quantity Of Time Between The 2010 Movie And Legends

2010’s The Karate Child wasn’t initially deliberate as a part of the primary universe, and was meant to be a free remake of the unique movie. Nevertheless, Chan’s return as Mr. Han in Legends retcons the movie, making it the fifth installment inside the franchise. Within the 2010 movie, Han was a upkeep employee who returns to kung fu to coach Smith’s Dre. In Legends, Han now operates a busy kung fu college, the place he educated Li earlier than he moved to New York Metropolis.

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Which Cobra Kai Characters Karate Child Legends’ Li Fong May Beat In A Struggle

Li Fong often is the latest pupil within the Karate Child franchise, however he already has a couple of benefits over a number of college students from Cobra Kai.

Primarily based on the timeline, there’s a 13-year hole between Legends and the 2010 movie, which might clarify how Mr. Han had time to develop his kung fu college right into a profitable enterprise. Dre is surprisingly by no means talked about on this movie, regardless of Dre supposedly being the Daniel to his Mr. Miyagi. The Karate Child franchise goes again a long time, and it will be fascinating to see if it grows farther from Karate Child: Legends.