This Is How <em>Cobra Kai</em> Remains Canon In <em>Karate Kid: Legends</em>

This story contains spoilers for Karate Kid: Legends.

Strike hard, strike fast, and... wait a second. This isn't Cobra Kai. Or is it? After fifteen years, the Karate Kid franchise returns to the big screen with Karate Kid: Legends, a sequel to both the original Karate Kid film series—including the once-disconnected 2010 remake with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith—and the hit Netflix series Cobra Kai.

But how does Cobra Kai factor into Karate Kid: Legends, really? You might have noticed an oh-so-faint disconnect between Cobra Kai and Karate Kid: Legends. None of the Cobra Kai creators are involved with Karate Kid: Legends. And based on the way Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso appears in the trailers for Legends, one wonders how a San Fernando car dealer gets caught up in a Chinese teenager's kung fu training in Manhattan. But fret not, for the branches that connect Karate Kid: Legends and Cobra Kai are stronger than they seem.

Here's how the events of Cobra Kai factor into the story of Karate Kid: Legends.

In Karate Kid: Legends, Chinese teenager Li Fong (Ben Wang) is one of many pupils at a Beijing kung fu school run by Shifu Han (Jackie Chan), who originates from the 2010 movie The Karate Kid. When his family moves to New York City, Li Fong gets caught up in the local martial arts scene and even trains the boxer-turned-pizzeria chef father of his crush (it's... a lot) to incorporate kung fu into his training. Eventually, Li Fong must square off with his own rival, the ruthless Conor Day (Aramis Knight), an MMA prodigy.

Li Fong (Ben Wang) is the main protagonist of Karate Kid: Legends, where he trains under both Han (Jackie Chan) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) in New York.

When life in New York gets rough for Li Fong, he is visited by Shifu Han, who offers to help train Li Fong for the locally famous 5 Boroughs tournament. But knowing that kung fu isn't enough to fight Conor Day, Han takes a brief excursion to Los Angeles and seeks the help of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio, as you know) at his home/dojo, which is surrounded by parked, brand-new automobiles.

As it turns out, Han and Mr. Miyagi were close friends, with Miyagi-Do Karate having roots in the style of kung fu taught by Han's family. The movie brings up a recurring motif—"Two branches, one tree"—to symbolize the harmony between two contrasting styles, cultures, and philosophies.

At the end of the movie, following Li Fong's incredible victory over Conor, Daniel is back home in San Fernando where he receives a special delivery: pizza from New York, courtesy of Li Fong. That's when the movie features Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), in a cameo appearance that's sure to get a big reaction from audiences everywhere.

While the scene doesn't allude to anything specific about Cobra Kai, as Zabka's Johnny spends his screen time comically pitching a karate-themed pizza joint to Daniel, the strong friendship between Daniel and Johnny implies the events of Cobra Kai are entrenched in the background.

In an interview with Variety for Karate Kid: Legends, Macchio confirmed the story of Legends takes place three years after the end of Cobra Kai. "Once we were able to line that up, for the Cobra Kai story to lead into the new film—even though they’re separate ecosystems—it all made sense for me," Macchio said.

While it's probably too late to see Li Fong spar with any of Johnny's own pupils in Cobra Kai—the show formally ended last February on Netflix—there's still room for the Karate Kid franchise to flourish elsewhere. Perhaps a sequel to Karate Kid: Legends could pit Han kung fu against The Way of the Fist.