NO MERCY: The Karate Kid Franchise Will Not Quit

The Karate Kid film franchise has done it all. From inspiring millions to crane kick their way through the '80s to navigating awkward sequels, reboots, and a surprise streaming comeback with Cobra Kai…with Karate Kid: Legends, a brand new movie from the series, arriving in cinemas. In this episode of Sequelpalooza, we break down the many lives of The Karate Kid - exploring how a simple underdog story evolved into a decades-spanning saga, complete with spiritual successors, forgotten chapters, and unexpected pop culture dominance. How did a small coming-of-age martial arts film become a long-running cultural phenomenon? And which chapters of its story still hold up today? This is episode six of Sequelpalooza, the series from Culture Slice that dives into Hollywood’s unpredictable obsession with sequels, reboots, and franchise reinventions. 00:00 Intro + opening titles 01:25 The Karate Kid (1984) 13:51 The Karate Kid Part II (1986) 17:45 OTHER martial arts films of the '80s and '90s 21:16 The Karate Kid Part III (1989) 26:24 The Next Karate Kid (1994) 31:36 The Karate Kid (2010) 34:18 Cobra Kai on Netflix (2018-2025) 37:50 Where did it all go wrong (or right) for the franchise? 41:08 Culture Slice updates + thanks for watching Subscribe to CULTURE SLICE ✅    / @cultureslice   Also subscribe to our brand new channel CULTURE SLICE CUTS ✌    / @cultureslicecuts   STAY IN TOUCH WITH CULTURE SLICE 🍕 📧 Email Culture Slice @ [email protected] 📱 Culture Slice Insta @   / culture_slice