Who is Ben Wang, the new Karate Kid?

Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio made casting calls for the new star of the 'Karate Kid' reboot in November 2023. It was a surprise casting call that Sony Pictures posted on YouTube. Three months later, they had found the new lead of the franchise: Ben Wang.

Ben Wang is one of American entertainment’s new rising stars, with big works such as Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese’ amongst others under his belt.

Follow Showbizz Daily to stay informed and enjoy more content!

According to Northfield News, Ben Wang immigrated to Minnesota, in the United States, from Shanghai, China, when he was six and picked up English while living there.

TIMID Magazine notes that Ben Wang eventually grew to love acting while being absorbed in learning English through infomercials that he attempted to act and make his own. This became a gateway into acting as he gradually moved on to theatre.

Ben Wang eventually left Minnesota to attend theatre school in New York, where he is now based, reports Northfield News.

The move to New York was a fateful one for Ben Wang, as it eventually gained him more acting opportunities!

Since then, Ben Wang has landed roles in bigger mainstream productions such as Disney+’s ‘Chang Can Dunk’, ‘Dinner is Served’, and HBO’s ‘Search Party’.

Image: Disney+

His biggest role to date has been in Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese', where he not only was cast as the main character, Jin Wang, of Gene Luen Yang’s novel adaptation but also starred alongside A-list actors such as Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Daniel Wu!

Ben Wang would land yet another major role when it was announced earlier in February 2024 that he had been selected out of a global casting call for the next star of the ‘Karate Kid’ reboot, reports Yahoo News.

Image: Disney+

The last ‘Karate Kid’ movie was released back in 2010, when it starred big names like Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith in the lead roles. The movie was the fifth film in the ‘Karate Kid’ franchise.

Image: Sony Pictures

What many are looking forward to in the latest reboot of the ‘Karate Kid’ franchise is not only that it would be a revival of the filmic franchise, but also that Jackie Chan would be replaying his role as Mr. Han from the last film, reports Max Blizz.

Image: Sony Pictures

Even bigger news was that The Straits Times reports that Ralph Macchio, the original ‘Karate Kid’ from the first ‘Karate Kid’ film in 1984, will be replaying his role too, as Daniel LaRusso in the 2024 reboot!

Image: Columbia Pictures

Given that two older characters from past films will be reprising their roles together in the latest filmic reboot of ‘Karate Kid’, the latest film is expected to tie up the entire universe of ‘Karate Kid’ and start a whole new era of ‘Karate Kid’ films, reports Esquire.

Image: Columbia Pictures

According to Screen Rant, the latest ‘Karate Kid’ film will follow the story of a teenager from China who will be mentored by a “tough but fair” mentor.

Image: Columbia Pictures

The same report from Screen Rant noted that the casting for the latest star for ‘Karate Kid’ was a very competitive one as Sony opened up casting calls globally for all to participate. However, Ben Wang was able to clinch the coveted role and stand out from the competition!

Image: Sony Pictures

Entertainment Weekly reports that Ben Wang won the coveted role out of more than 10,000 hopefuls due to his native fluency in Mandarin while also already being skilled in martial arts, including karate, as per the film’s thematic focus itself.

Image: Disney+

The Hollywood Reporter added that what sealed the deal was how Ben Wang was able to demonstrate his close connection to the character in his audition for the role! It also probably helped that he had his work in ‘American Born Chinese’ to vouch for his acting and martial arts skills.

Image: Disney+

The same report from The Hollywood Reporter mentions that Sony is expecting to release the film in December 2024. We’ll have to wait till then to not only see Ben Wang in action but also to see how Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio will reprise their roles in the reboot!

Image: Disney+

Follow Showbizz Daily to stay informed and enjoy more content!