Prepare to have some mixed feelings, lovers of martial arts-themed franchises, as the latest intel about Sony’s Karate Kid reboot may spell doom for Netflix’s long-gestating relaunch of the Power Rangers universe. The news that a fifth film installment in the Karate Kid series was in the works was already a contentious one with fans, thanks to the confirmation it would be entirely disconnected from Cobra Kai, but now folks have another reason to be skeptical about it.
According to a report from The Illuminerdi, The End of the F…ing World and I Am Not Okay With This creator Jonathan Entwistle is being lined up to helm the new Karate Kid movie. Given his work on those two popular aforementioned Netflix shows, Entwistle’s hiring behind the camera may seem like a good thing, but there is a hidden downside here. If this info is accurate then it presumably means the filmmaker has walked away from his gig over in the Power Rangers world.
You see, exactly one year ago this month, Entwistle confirmed that he was set to direct a Power Rangers movie reboot for Netflix, as well as spearheading the streamer’s ambitious plans to relaunch the beloved tokusatsu franchise from top to bottom with a myriad of projects. The director hasn’t had a peep to say about this coveted job over the past 12 months, though, so with his Karate Kid appointment, maybe we should take it that he and Netflix have parted ways over PR.
As for the new Karate Kid flick, Murphy’s Multiverse shares that the thinking is that it will be a subversion of the usual formula, featuring a 17-year Chinese boy moving to Brooklyn and mentoring a single father who owns a pizzeria in the ways of kung fu (yes, karate will be replaced by kung fu for this one, much like the 2010 Jackie Chan remake). With a different location and all-new characters, the reboot won’t be connected to the “Miyagiverse” but it won’t contradict it either.