Why Jaden Smith's Dre Parker Didn't Return For Karate Kid: Legends

It has been 15 years since the release of "The Karate Kid," which was originally a loose remake of the 1984 film of the same name. While the original film starred Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita as the student and the teacher, respectively, the 2010 film starred Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan in the same dynamic. At the time of its release, the 2010 film was nothing more than a modern adaptation of the 1984 coming-of-age classic, borrowing the title while changing the martial arts specialty to Kung Fu and relocating the setting to Beijing, China.

However, while the 2010 "Karate Kid" film remained standalone from the original four entries in the franchise for more than a decade, it was officially incorporated into the canon of the established franchise (which now includes the Netflix series, "Cobra Kai"), with the latest entry, "Karate Kid: Legends." In the new film, we see the return of Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), as well as Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). "Karate Kid: Legends" serves as a legacy sequel to both the original film series and the 2010 film, but while Jackie Chan was invited back for this new entry, the titular star from 15 years ago, Jaden Smith, did not reprise his role as Dre Parker.

Jaden Smith made his film debut in 2006's "The Pursuit of Happyness," where he acted alongside his father, Will Smith. He would follow that film up with a supporting part in 2008's "The Day the Earth Stood Still," but it was "The Karate Kid" that served as his first outing as the lead of a film. While this at-the-time remake of a beloved film may not be seen in the same light as the original, it still received positive reviews and grossed $359.1 million on a $40 million budget, making it the highest-grossing film of the entire franchise.

Now that the 2010 film is part of the canon of the film series, one of the natural questions that comes to mind is what became of Dre Parker? By the time the events of "Karate Kid: Legends" occur, it would have been nearly 15 years since he first met Mr. Han in Beijing and was trained in his ways of Kung Fu. The new film picks up in real time, and Mr. Han has stopped being a maintenance man and returned to his career as the full-time master of his own dojo. However, not only is Dre Parker nowhere to be seen, but he isn't even mentioned at all. Director Jonathan Entwistle was asked by Inverse about the absence of Jaden Smith's character from the film, but reassured that he is still canon to the franchise, and hints that he might still be out there. As he explained:

"He does exist. I think he still is. Absolutely, the character is still canon, but he's no real reference to Li Fong. He's no real reference to this particular chapter. It's not to say that he's not a reference to a chapter of Mr. Han's story, that's for sure."

"Karate Kid: Legends" debuted in theaters at the tail-end of May, and despite being based on a beloved film franchise, it debuted to middling numbers, grossing $21 million on its opening weekend, and only charting at #3 behind both "Lilo & Stitch" and "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning" in their second weekends. Thankfully, the film was produced on a budget of $45 million, and its current global tallies already match those costs. However, we are in the midst of what is already shaping up to be a competitive summer movie season, with more family films such as "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Elio" about to hit theaters.

Although "Karate Kid: Legends" received mixed reviews from critics (you can read /Film's review here), it received a solid A- CinemaScore from audiences. Whether or not the film holds steady at the box office these next few weeks remains to be seen, but given the formulaic nature of the "Karate Kid" films, there is only so much you can do with that franchise. After all, "Cobra Kai" took off as well as it did mainly because it subverted the formula and took numerous wild turns of its own. Either way, regardless of how "Karate Kid: Legends" performs in the long run, let's hope that Ben Wang is given more significant opportunities. As formulaic as this film was, he stood out in both his physicality and likability, and he deserves more starring roles like this. Who knows? Perhaps we can see him and Jaden Smith cross paths in a sequel.