Over 10,000 applications have been received for the lead role in the new “Karate Kid” film with Jackie Chan (69) and Ralph Macchio (62) – after just one day. As “The Hollywood Reporter” reports, the applications come from countries around the world, for example from Singapore, the USA, Canada, Great Britain, India, Australia, Finland, Sweden and South Africa.
Sony Pictures launched an open casting call on its homepage on Wednesday (November 22nd) in which it is looking for a Chinese actor or actor with part Chinese descent to embody the next “Karate Kid”. “He is smart, scrappy and a martial artist,” the call says. In addition to an age range of 15 to 17, Sony also mentions fluent English skills as a prerequisite for the film role. Knowledge of Mandarin and initial acting experience are an advantage.
Chan and Macchio announced the news in a YouTube video on Tuesday, November 21st. And the video message from the two actors, who are obviously already looking forward to their young co-star, is also spreading on other platforms such as Instagram. Filming will last from March to June 2024. Jonathan Entwistle (“The End of the F***ing World”, 39) will direct from a script by Rob Lieber (“Peter Hase”, 47), Karen Rosenfelt (“The “Devil Wears Prada”, 53) is the producer.
While Macchio played the character Daniel LaRusso in the films “Karate Kid” (1984), “Karate Kid II – Decision in Okinawa” (1986), “Karate Kid III – The Final Decision” (1989) and the Netflix revival series ” Cobra Kai” (since 2018), Chan played Mr. Han in the 2010 remake “Karate Kid”, a character based on the legendary Mr. Miyagi portrayed by Pat Morita (1932-2005). Now the two stars are in front of the camera together for the new, as yet untitled “Karate Kid” sequel. The film is expected to open in cinemas in December 2024.
