Ralph Macchio, best known as Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid (1984), spoke with Jake Hamilton in December of 2021 about various elements of his hit Netflix series – Cobra Kai. He was accompanied by his co-star William Zabka who, along with several others, reprised his role as Johnny Lawrence from the films.

Cobra Kai’s season 5 aired last year and fans are in a frenzy over rumors that veteran actor Jackie Chan, who played Mr. Han in the 2010 reboot, The Karate Kid, may appear in the show at some point; Macchio cleared the air on that.

Ralph Macchio and William Zabka
Chan once revealed to actor George Lopez on his talk show, Lopez Tonight, that he and Hollywood A-lister Will Smith met in Japan years ago, and discussed rebooting The Karate Kid franchise.

Smith and Chan made the film a reality with the former co-producing it. Subjected to mostly positive reviews, The Karate Kid earned $359 million in global sales. With no certainty of Chan’s return for the sequel, Macchio claimed that the reboot may be another franchise altogether.

Ralph Macchio On Jackie Chan’s Cameo In Cobra Kai

Macchio didn’t mince his words when he elaborated on how Cobra Kai is different from the 2010 reboot. On a side note, Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han lived in Beijing, whereas the late Pat Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi, belonged to Japan.
Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith in The Karate Kid (2010)
The actor, however, revealed his own reasoning for Chan’s rumored cameo in the series by saying –
“Anyone who knew Mr. Miyagi and interacted with Mr. Miyagi is ‘canon’ for our show, for the ‘Cobra Kai’ show.”
While this may be upsetting for the hardcore fans of Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio did reveal a canonical actress who interacted with Morita.

Ralph Macchio Quoted The Next Karate Kid Star

Macchio passed the torch to then-lesser-known actress Hilary Swank (P.S. I Love You) to carry the franchise with The Next Karate Kid (1994). Morita reprised his role and trained her in the film as her character, Julie Pierce, dealt with anger issues.
Pat Morita and Hilary Swank in The Next Karate Kid (1994)
“To the flip side of that, someone like Julie Pierce, who is Hilary Swank’s role, did know Miyagi,” said Macchio. “So there’s always a chance for maybe that.”
Has Macchio subtly indicated to the fans that Swank could make a cameo instead of Jackie Chan? We’d only find out when they come back with Season 6, which is currently on hold due to the writers’ strike.

The Karate Kid universe is available for streaming on Netflix.