Why Jaden Smith’s Dre Parker Did not Return For Karate Child: Legends

It has been 15 years for the reason that launch of “The Karate Child,” which was initially a free remake of the 1984 movie of the identical identify. Whereas the unique movie starred Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita as the scholar and the trainer, respectively, the 2010 movie starred Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan in the identical dynamic. On the time of its launch, the 2010 movie was nothing greater than a contemporary adaptation of the 1984 coming-of-age basic, borrowing the title whereas altering the martial arts specialty to Kung Fu and relocating the setting to Beijing, China.

Nonetheless, whereas the 2010 “Karate Child” movie remained standalone from the unique 4 entries within the franchise for greater than a decade, it was formally included into the canon of the established franchise (which now contains the Netflix sequence, “Cobra Kai”), with the most recent entry, “Karate Child: Legends.” Within the new movie, we see the return of Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), in addition to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). “Karate Child: Legends” serves as a legacy sequel to each the unique movie sequence and the 2010 movie, however whereas Jackie Chan was invited again for this new entry, the titular star from 15 years in the past, Jaden Smith, didn’t reprise his position as Dre Parker.

Jaden Smith made his movie debut in 2006’s “The Pursuit of Happyness,” the place he acted alongside his father, Will Smith. He would comply with that movie up with a supporting half in 2008’s “The Day the Earth Stood Nonetheless,” but it surely was “The Karate Child” that served as his first outing because the lead of a movie. Whereas this at-the-time remake of a beloved movie will not be seen in the identical gentle as the unique, it nonetheless acquired constructive evaluations and grossed $359.1 million on a $40 million funds, making it the highest-grossing movie of all the franchise.

Now that the 2010 movie is a part of the canon of the movie sequence, one of many pure questions that involves thoughts is what turned of Dre Parker? By the point the occasions of “Karate Child: Legends” happen, it could have been practically 15 years since he first met Mr. Han in Beijing and was skilled in his methods of Kung Fu. The brand new movie picks up in actual time, and Mr. Han has stopped being a upkeep man and returned to his profession because the full-time grasp of his personal dojo. Nonetheless, not solely is Dre Parker nowhere to be seen, however he is not even talked about in any respect. Director Jonathan Entwistle was requested by Inverse concerning the absence of Jaden Smith’s character from the movie, however reassured that he’s nonetheless canon to the franchise, and hints that he may nonetheless be on the market. As he defined:

“He does exist. I believe he nonetheless is. Completely, the character remains to be canon, however he is no actual reference to Li Fong. He is no actual reference to this specific chapter. It is to not say that he isn’t a reference to a chapter of Mr. Han’s story, that is for positive.”

“Karate Child: Legends” debuted in theaters on the tail-end of Might, and regardless of being based mostly on a beloved movie franchise, it debuted to middling numbers, grossing $21 million on its opening weekend, and solely charting at #3 behind each “Lilo & Sew” and “Mission: Unattainable — The Ultimate Reckoning” of their second weekends. Fortunately, the movie was produced on a funds of $45 million, and its present international tallies already match these prices. Nonetheless, we’re within the midst of what’s already shaping as much as be a aggressive summer time film season, with extra household movies akin to “How you can Practice Your Dragon” and “Elio” about to hit theaters.

Though “Karate Child: Legends” acquired combined evaluations from critics (you may learn /Movie’s overview right here), it acquired a strong A- CinemaScore from audiences. Whether or not or not the movie holds regular on the field workplace these subsequent few weeks stays to be seen, however given the formulaic nature of the “Karate Child” movies, there’s solely a lot you are able to do with that franchise. In any case, “Cobra Kai” took off in addition to it did primarily as a result of it subverted the method and took quite a few wild turns of its personal. Both manner, no matter how “Karate Child: Legends” performs in the long term, let’s hope that Ben Wang is given extra vital alternatives. As formulaic as this movie was, he stood out in each his physicality and likability, and he deserves extra starring roles like this. Who is aware of? Maybe we will see him and Jaden Smith cross paths in a sequel.