We were joined on the Popternative show by Sadie Stanley (Cruel Summer, The Goldbergs) who stars as Mia in Karate Kid: Legends, a new chapter in the Karate Kid universe. The film released in theaters on May 30 and also stars Jackie Chan (The Karate Kid, Rush Hour) and Ralph Macchio (Cobra Kai, The Karate Kid) who reprise their roles as Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso.
Directed by Jonathan Entwistle (The End of the F***ing World, I Am Not Okay with This) and written by Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day), the film follows kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang, American Born Chinese) who is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother after a family tragedy. Li struggles to let go of his past as he tries to fit in with his new classmates, and although he doesn’t want to fight, trouble seems to find him everywhere.
When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren’t enough. Li’s kung fu teacher Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.
Karate Kid: Legends also stars Joshua Jackson (Doctor Odyssey, The Affair), Ming-Na Wen (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mulan), Wyatt Oleff (I Am Not Okay with This, It), and Aramis Knight (Ms. Marvel, Into the Badlands).
On blending themes of coming-of-age, drama, and romance with martial arts, Sadie says, “The whole first half of the movie kind of almost feels like a rom-com between Ben and I. We felt that when we were filming. We have all these really cute meet cute scenes, and they’re getting to know each other and they’re feeling each other out and it’s really adorable. And then the same day Ben’s filming an insane fight scene. That’s what’s great about the movie, it has something for everybody.”
Watch the full conversation with Sadie Stanley below.
Karate Kid: Legends is playing in theaters.
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