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SPOILERS are ahead for Karate Kid: Legends.
The latest of big 2025 movie releases that arrived over the weekend was Karate Kid: Legends. The new installment to the Karate Kid franchise finally ties together Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi with the 2010 The Karate Kid movie with Jackie Chan, however, you might notice one key component of the 15-year-old movie is missing: Jaden Smith’s Dre Parker.
I know I personally didn’t expect to see Jaden Smith in Legends given the son of Will Smith barely acts these days. But I do find it interesting to read about what director Jonathan Entwistle thinks about how Dre Parker fits into his new movie, if you were as curious as I am by the decision. Here’s what he told Inverse:
He does exist. I think he still is. Absolutely, the character is still canon, but he’s no real reference to Li Fong. He’s no real reference to this particular chapter. It’s not to say that he’s not a reference to a chapter of Mr. Han’s story, that’s for sure.
As Entwistle shared with the outlet, he definitely thinks Jaden Smith’s The Karate Kid character is still absolutely canon and out there somewhere in the world of Karate Kid: Legends. It seems like perhaps he wasn’t deemed necessary to the story of Ben Wang’s Li Fong and therefore is not in this new movie.
In Karate Kid: Legends, which couldn’t surpass the continued box office success of Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning over its first weekend, Mr. Han has followed his time training Dre in The Karate Kid in the 2010 movie by becoming a master to many more in China since the end of his first and only appearance in the franchise. Li Fong is one of his students over in China, but after the tragic death of his brother after a kung fu tournament, Li Fong and his mother move to New York City for a fresh start.
And when Mr. Han senses that Li Fong can use some help over in New York City, and it involves karate, he hunts down Daniel LaRusso in California to help him learn the art. Sure, it’s a bit of a meandering plotline, but Legends does finally tie together the original movies with the 2010 version by connecting Mr. Han with Mr. Miyagi. Knowing that the pair have some shared history makes it more palpable that Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso would come together.
It would have been nice to see Legends nod to Dre and the 2010 movie, but I know I found it fun on its own to see Mr. Han and Daniel in the same Karate Kid film. It’s been awhile since I saw Jackie Chan in a Hollywood blockbuster, and he is still doing his own stunts at the age of 71 (and told CinemaBlend he always will). I also had a great time seeing Daniel and William Zabka’s Johnny joke around in the post credit scene. At least Dre Parker is still allegedly canon, but I do get why he’s seemingly not part of the plotline of the new film after the director’s comments.