Actor Ben Wang is taking the mantle in Jonathan Entwistle’s forthcoming installment of the Karate Kid franchise, according to THR’s Borys Kit. The announcement comes following a global casting call that kicked off last November, spearheaded by actors Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, with reportedly 10,000 candidates showing up in the first 24 hours.
Per Kit’s reporting:
According to studio insiders, Wang delivered a standout audition that demonstrated his deep connection to the character. It also helped that he is fluent in Mandarin and highly skilled across many forms of martial arts, including karate, wing chun/kung fu, gumdo, kempo and taekwondo. Some of those skills were already showcased on American Born Chinese, the well-regarded adaptation of the acclaimed coming-of-age fantasy graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang that also starred Michelle Yeoh.
Wang starred in “American Born Chinese” opposite Daniel Wu, Jim Liu and Oscar winning actors Yeoh and her fellow Everything Everywhere All At Once cohort, Ke Huy Quan. The eight-episode fantasy action show premiered exclusively on Disney+ last May and was cancelled last month with the option to shop the series to other outlets.
Entwistle is directing the new Karate Kid movie from a script by Liefield which will join Wang with Macchio and Chan for the film’s release this December.
Read more at THR.
Lead photo: Ben Wang in “American Born Chinese” (Disney/Carlos Lopez-Calleja)
