did not feature Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, leading many to wonder where the actor and character were. Often considered the worst of the Karate Kid movies, The Next Karate Kid focused on a different main star than Macchio. Hilary Swank took over the role, marking the first absence in the series for Daniel LaRusso, who later returned as part of Cobra Kai’s ensemble cast.
For the actor, Macchio did not return as he simply was not asked to. Despite Pat Morita’s wise and inspiring Mr. Miyagi being part of the spin-off, Macchio revealed to Uproxx that he did not get a call to return for the 1994 film, likely as a result of the original creators, Robert Mark Kamen and John G. Avildsen, not being involved. While Macchio will return in the upcoming story of Karate Kid: Legends, many are wondering if there is a narrative reason for his character, Daniel LaRusso, being absent from The Next Karate Kid.
Daniel LaRusso Was No Longer Living With Mr. Miyagi In The Next Karate Kid
Daniel Had Moved On With His Own Life
At the beginning of The Next Karate Kid, some hints about Daniel LaRusso’s whereabouts are provided. In The Karate Kid Part III, Daniel is shown living with Mr. Miyagi for a while during his conflict with Terry Silver, Cobra Kai, and Mike Barnes. The film ends with Daniel winning the All-Valley Tournament once more, yet The Next Karate Kid changes his living situation. At the beginning of the movie, Daniel is no longer living with Mr. Miyagi. This leads Miyagi to Boston, where he trains Swank’s Julie Pierce as the titular successor to Daniel.
Miyagi also references his time living with Daniel in the past tense during the film, confirming the two have moved on from their prior living arrangements.
Although the reason for Daniel’s absence from Miyagi’s house is not outlined, it can be inferred based on other stories in the series. Initially, there were many assumptions and theories about where Daniel was in The Next Karate Kid, which have also been proven to be false. Naturally, this caused more confusion about where exactly Daniel was, leaving other stories like Cobra Kai to provide retroactive reasons for Miyagi training someone besides Macchio’s character in The Next Karate Kid.
For the actor, Macchio did not return as he simply was not asked to. Despite Pat Morita’s wise and inspiring Mr. Miyagi being part of the spin-off, Macchio revealed to Uproxx that he did not get a call to return for the 1994 film, likely as a result of the original creators, Robert Mark Kamen and John G. Avildsen, not being involved. While Macchio will return in the upcoming story of Karate Kid: Legends, many are wondering if there is a narrative reason for his character, Daniel LaRusso, being absent from The Next Karate Kid.
At the beginning of The Next Karate Kid, some hints about Daniel LaRusso’s whereabouts are provided. In The Karate Kid Part III, Daniel is shown living with Mr. Miyagi for a while during his conflict with Terry Silver, Cobra Kai, and Mike Barnes. The film ends with Daniel winning the All-Valley Tournament once more, yet The Next Karate Kid changes his living situation. At the beginning of the movie, Daniel is no longer living with Mr. Miyagi. This leads Miyagi to Boston, where he trains Swank’s Julie Pierce as the titular successor to Daniel.
Although the reason for Daniel’s absence from Miyagi’s house is not outlined, it can be inferred based on other stories in the series. Initially, there were many assumptions and theories about where Daniel was in The Next Karate Kid, which have also been proven to be false. Naturally, this caused more confusion about where exactly Daniel was, leaving other stories like Cobra Kai to provide retroactive reasons for Miyagi training someone besides Macchio’s character in The Next Karate Kid.