With 'Karate Kid: Legends,' Ben Wang is the 1st Asian American new 'Kid' on the block

It didn't occur to Ben Wang right away that in taking on “ Karate Kid: Legends,” he'd 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 told The Associated Press. “That feels like a very cool and actually privileged position that I get to be in."

His casting happened, he said, in "a world where that's normal enough."

“Karate Kid: Legends,” which opens Friday, unites OG Ralph Macchio's Daniel and Jackie Chan's Mr. Han from the 2010 movie to help Wang's Li Fong win a New York City karate competition.

In the original “Karate Kid” movie, which came out more than 40 years ago, 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 white karate bullies. That arc has been replicated and flipped in sequels and offshoots ever since. The overall lack of Asian and Asian American representation all these years has been a lingering point of contention for some.

Jeff Yang, author of “The Golden Screen: The Movies That Made Asian America,” said he knows plenty of Asian Americans who find most of the Miyagi-verse entertaining. At the same time, even the recent Netflix “Cobra Kai” series hardly had any young Asian American main characters. That lost opportunity felt like a “loose, nagging tooth,” he said.

“It’s always been a situation where the ancient or legendary martial arts master is transferring his skills not just to another generation, but into another community,” Jeff Yang said. “In a way, that feels like for me as an Asian American, it turns it into a guilty pleasure."

The Asians who were there were “either sidekicks or villains," he added.

In Asia, there's a long cinematic history of elite martial artists-turned-actors ranging from icon Bruce Lee to Chan and Jet Li. But in Hollywood, Asian characters who did perform karate or kung-fu often weren't written three-dimensionally. Most of the stars who could shine for acting and on-screen fighting weren't Asian.

“In a way that’s understandable,” Yang said. “Martial arts is one of the things that was brought to the United States by soldiers who had been stationed in Asia, learned the practice, embraced the lifestyle and the discipline.”

By the 1970s and '80s, karate dojos were becoming popular all over the U.S. in cities and suburbs. So “The Karate Kid” debuted at just the right time.

Ken Nagayama, a martial arts grand master who runs a school in the Valley, was an instructor at a North Hollywood dojo used for scenes in the original film. He recalls meeting Pat Morita. But, he wasn't thinking about casting. He was impressed by how much interest in karate shot up because of one movie.

“When that came out, so many people were interested in taking class, especially younger kids,” said Nagayama, who plans to watch “Legends” with some of his students. He had “a whole mix” of students of all races signing up.

Steven Ho, a stunt coordinator and martial artist who lives in Los Angeles and has appeared multiple times on Conan O'Brien's talk shows, remembers Morita, Macchio and William Zabka watching tournaments he competed in to prepare for the first movie. He was such a fan of Morita that he never thought about how there were no other Asian actors.

“Pat Morita, to me, he was the lead,” Ho said. “Also, if that were the only martial arts film out there, then yeah, it would be odd and I would be disappointed. But you gotta remember the ‘80s and ’90s we were living in the golden age of Jet Li, Jackie Chan, films that featured ... more authentic martial artists."

It's a full-circle moment that Chan is one of the mentors in this new flick. Wang is still in disbelief he got to do combat choreography with the superstar.

“He's the guy you think he is,” Wang said with a grin. “He doesn’t turn it off when he’s not on set.”

Ho happily points out that “Karate Kid: Legends” is reinforcing how his 12-year-old twin sons are growing up without negative Asian stereotypes like he did. He’d rather a story have no Asians if the characters are going to be the butt of the joke. That history of stereotyping of Asian men is why he initially declined appearing on O’Brien’s show.

“I thought ”Oh, he’s a tall guy. I’m a short, Asian guy. They’re just going to goof on me. They’re going to go off on me,' so I said, ‘You know, I’m gonna be out of town,’” Ho said.

Luckily, the segments, which have earned millions of YouTube views, were crafted so Ho was the straight-man to O’Brien’s buffoonery.

Twins Jonny and Ollie, in fact, are real-life karate kids. The boys, known as the “Twinjas," know karate, mixed martial arts and other disciplines. They count Bruce Lee's daughter, Shannon, as a friend. They've appeared on “America's Got Talent,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi" and taught Kevin Hart and Snoop Dogg moves. They love “Cobra Kai” for the drama and want to see “Legends” for Chan. They have since been introduced to the movie that started it all.

For Ollie, Miyagi was his favorite character.

“I think that in the first Karate Kids, how the teacher was Asian, I think being a teacher is better than being a student,” he said.

Jonny says not every show or movie in this genre has to have an Asian lead, but when there is one, he takes note.

“I think that there’s definitely a lot of other movies and shows that have Asian leads, like Simu Liu, the first Asian superhero,” Jonny said, referring to Marvel's “ Shang-Chi.” “It’s very significant."

The Twinjas, who are working on a children's fiction book that's part mystery and part action, are not shy about voicing their own desire for “any opportunities that come our way, we’d love to take, especially for acting and using our martial arts skills,” Ollie said.

Perhaps they'll get some inspiration from seeing Wang in “Legends.” Wang considers it a "point of pride” if young Asian American children view him as a benchmark so they can see themselves as the hero.

“The word I keep going back to is it's a privilege,” Wang said. “What I love about this series is ... there's this idea anyone can be the ‘Karate Kid.’”

___ Associated Press videojournalist John Carucci in New York contributed to this report.