Can you imagine a crossover between Rocky and karate Kid? Well, it was about to become a reality in the 90s, a time when both franchises were still successes in the cinema. Although the idea was seen as too far fetched to put on screen, so it was scrapped.
The above was revealed by Ralph Macchio, who plays Daniel LaRusso, and the revelation was made as part of his new memoir, which is titled Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me. In a fragment of the book (recovered by Entertainment Weekly), the actor talks at length about numerous proposals for projects that were made to him throughout his career. It is not surprising that a large part of these proposals were sequels for the karate trilogy.
What would the union of Rocky and karate kids?
The biggest and weirdest idea Macchio ever heard was one that came to him over lunch with director John G. Avildsen and two studio executives. It was about bringing together the champion of the All-Valley tournament and the boxer played by Sylvester Stallone in an adventure to save their children from danger. This was the concept:
“What if Rocky Balboa had a son and Daniel-san had a son and you were both losers and you Ralph and Stallone got together between New Jersey and Philly to join in some Miyagi/Mickey style wrestling training?”
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The truth is that it makes sense that this proposal was presented to them. After all, Avildsen directed the first installments of Rocky and karate Kid, so I was familiar with both stories. However, the interpreter comments that, after the executives tried to sell his creation, the only thing that happened was that there was a long silence and shortly after the director burst out laughing.
Eventually, everyone at the meeting agreed that maybe that wasn’t the best thing they could come up with. Of course, the pitch was discarded sooner than later. Cut to: several years later, when Ralph and William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) accepted the offer to star cobra kaithe Netflix sensation series that serves as a direct sequel to the three tapes focused on LaRusso’s personal journey.
At another point in the book, the actor says that he received other proposals that went beyond bringing the fighters together, since they were more absurd and had lots of clichés. We include them below. Oh, the crazy 90s!
“It was a period in my career where I actively tried to break away from typecasting. However, as time went on, I slowly opened my ears and tried to be flexible enough to at least listen. I must admit that on most occasions it was a challenge to get past the first few sentences.
Miyagi tragically dies and returns as a ghost to guide you.
You have a son who is a bully and you have to be the Miyagi to your problem son… who also has a drug problem.
Ali is pregnant with Johnny’s child and you can’t deal with it, even though you are married to Kumiko now.”
Jose Roberto Landaverde Film buff and music lover. I am fascinated by writing, listening, reading and commenting on everything related to the seventh art. I am a fan of Rocky and Back to the Future and of course one day I will climb the “Philly Steps” and drive a DeLorean. Faithful believer that the cinema is the best teleportation machine, and also that we can all see ourselves represented on the big screen. Constantly, like Scott Pilgrim, I ask myself: “Does bread make you fat?”
