10 Casting Choices That Will Make Or Break Upcoming Movies
5. Ben Wang - The Kid (The Karate Kid 6)
Last summer, a global casting call was put out to find the young lead of the sixth upcoming Karate Kid film, and earlier this year, it was announced that Ben Wang - who recently starred opposite Michelle Yeoh in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese - had been cast in the role.
Wang certainly proved himself to be a talented actor on that show, but this is a much bigger undertaking.
Wang has to live up to not just Ralph Macchio's iconic performance in the part but also Jaden Smith, who in the 2010 Karate Kid remake fared much better than many will ever want to admit.
Wang's fluency in Mandarin and skill in a number of martial arts - including karate, wing chun/kung fu, gumdo, kempo and taekwondo - place him in solid stead moving forward, but it's the chemistry with his karate master (or lack thereof) which will ultimately seal the movie's fate.
At least with franchise stars Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan both set to appear in the new film, he's got the best backup imaginable.