Why so few Asian-Americans in the Karate Kid series? How new movie Legends addresses this
A lack of Asian-American characters has long plagued the series, but Ben Wang’s casting in Karate Kid: Legends shows how times have changed
It did not occur to Ben Wang right away that in taking on Karate Kid: Legends, he would be the franchise’s first Asian-American “Kid”. And that gives him a lot of optimism.
“At first I didn’t even think about that,” Wang says. “That feels like a very cool and actually privileged position that I get to be in.”
His casting happened, he says, in “a world where that’s normal enough”.
In the original Karate Kid movie, which came out more than 40 years ago in 1984, Pat Morita was the only main Asian-American cast member, even though it takes place in California’s San Fernando Valley. His beloved Mr Miyagi helped underdog Daniel wax on and wax off against karate bullies.
That arc has been replicated and flipped in sequels and offshoots ever since, but the overall lack of Asian and Asian-American representation all these years has been a lingering point of contention for some.