Karate Kid: Legendsis the next movie in a long line of films and TV shows within theKarate Kidfranchise. But its story is seemingly going to mirror the plot of the franchise’s original movie,The Karate Kid, more than any other work since 1984. We already know that teenage martial arts student Li Fong’s journey inKarate Kid: Legendsis a callback to Daniel LaRusso’s story inThe Karate Kid, and the new movie may also have a replacement for the original movie’s principal villain, John Kreese.
This latest chapter in theKarate Kidstory sees Chinese teenager Fong move to New York and switch from training in kung-fu to karate. He has a little help from Jackie Chan’s Mr. Miyagi replacement, Mr. Han, as well as Daniel LaRusso himself. However, Li has to contend with some adversaries, too, primarily in the shape ofKarate Kid: Legends’ Johnny Lawrence replacement, Connor. Based on split-second snippets from the trailers that have been released for the movie so far, it’s very possible that Joshua Jackson will be playing a new version of Kreese, Lawrence’s sensei inThe Karate Kid.
Joshua Jackson’s Victor Could Be Karate Kid: Legends' John Kreese Replacement
Jackson’s Role Remains A Mystery But The Trailers Suggest He Could Be A Villain
As Daniel LaRusso actor Ralph Macchio alluded to in an interview withEntertainment Tonightduring CinemaCon,we don’t know the specifics of Joshua Jackson’sKarate Kid: Legendscharacterjust yet. It’s only really been confirmed that the character is called Victor. Nevertheless, on the basis of brief clips of fight scenes involving Macchio and Chan, we can deduce that Jackson may well be playing a replacement for John Kreese, the sensei who runs the Cobra Kai dojo in the original 1984 movieThe Karate Kid.
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Karate Kid: Legendsalready has equivalent characters for Daniel LaRusso, Mr. Miyagi, Johnny Lawrence and Lucille LaRussoconfirmed, so it only seems natural that John Kreese’s story is also revived for a new generation. The move to introduce a character similar to Kreese into the movie would be especially fitting following the explosiveending ofCobra Kai’s sixth and final seasonearlier this year, in which Kreese plays a prominent role.
Why Karate Kid: Legends Should Have Its Version Of John Kreese
If The Movie Is Taking After The Original Karate Kid, Then It Needs A Major Villain
With John Kreese having had something of a redemption arc at theend of Netflix’sCobra Kai, before he died heroically in the penultimate episode of the show, it seems only right thatKarate Kid: Legendsshould revive the character in a new form. Not only would this movie bethe perfect time to introduce a replacement for Kreese in theKarate Kidfranchise, but its plot is surely in need of this replacement to live up to the drama of the original 1984 film.
Even Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso’s main adversary for most of the movie, has some humanity to him, and ends up being a victim of Kreese’s punishing attitude to karate as much as Daniel’s tormentor.
InThe Karate Kid, Kreese is the only all-out villain, who makes his own students in the Cobra Kai gang suffer in pursuit of victory by any means necessary, just as much as he enjoys watching their opponents suffer painful defeat. Even Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso’s main adversary for most of the movie, has some humanity to him, and ends up being a victim of Kreese’s punishing attitude to karate as much as Daniel’s tormentor. Yet, Kreese has no remorse, and lays into his own students before accepting any form of weakness or defeat.
John Kreese Is Still The Karate Kid Franchise’s Ultimate Villain
Cobra Kai’s Redemption Arc Wasn’t Enough To Undo Everything Kreese Did
Regardless ofJohn Kreese redeeming himself at the end ofCobra Kai, no otherKarate Kidvillaincan compare to his role in the original movie and its sequels. Hardened by his experiences in the Vietnam War, which are revealed in Cobra Kai to have included killing his own army superior, Captain Turner,Kreese is merciless with his karate students. The traumatic effect that he had on them apparently lasted for decades after the events of the first Karate Kid, and even his belated apologies to Johnny Lawrence and Tory, among others, serve as too little, too late.
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What’s more, no one brings out the sheer brilliance of Mr. Miyagi as a sensei and martial artist quite like John Kreese, who serves as the yin to Miyagi’s yang. It’s to be hoped that Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso get their moment to face down John Kreese’s replacement in a similar manner inKarate Kid: Legends, whether it’s Joshua Jackson’s Victor or another character in the new movie. NoKarate Kidstory is complete without a compelling villain of Kreese’s caliber.
Karate Kid: Legends
Cast
Karate Kid: Legends is a sequel to Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid directed by Jonathan Entwistle. The film sees Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan reprising their roles, continuing the legacy of martial arts mentorship and rivalry in a new era of challenges and apprentices.
