How much influence will Mr. Miyagi have in Karate Kid: Legends

Karate Kid: Legends is due in May 2025, and while we may talk about potential cameos in the film, we should not forget the name who still remains at the core of the franchise, Nariyoshi Miyagi, or just Mr. Miyagi. Pat Morita immortalized the character before taking his last breath on November 24, 2005, at the age of 73. Ironic how a stand-up comedian did that with a fundamentally serious character.

Without Miyagi, there is no Karate Kid, period. The 2010 remake brought us a different version of Miyagi in the form of Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). But as we got the trailer for the latest movie in the franchise, we should stop calling it a remake given Han and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) will cross paths in the film.

Mr. Miyagi had an influence on both of them; LaRusso was the original Karate Kid, and Mr. Han is entirely based on the original sensei. To that end, despite Miyagi not being in there physically, the character will have a huge influence on Karate Kid: Legends.

Mr. Miyagi's presence will be felt in Karate Kid: Legends

We are not talking about his presence like the entity in David Soderbergh's film, but a presence akin to Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; they won't really be absent, ever.

Even Cobra Kai wasn't ready to exclude him behind and brought the character back with the help of a stunt double and some technology, and they did that a couple of times in the final season.

Now the next stop is Karate Kid: Legends, which won't really follow a traditional path that's filled with underdogs. According to the plot (via IMDb),

"Kung fu prodigy Li Fong is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City. When a friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition. Li's teacher Mr. Han enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso for help."

You see? Li Fong (Ben Wang) is already a Kung Fu prodigy in Karate Kid: Legends so we should assume this kid already knows his stuff. But a mentor is always a good choice, and he has a couple of them already, both of whom have connections tracing back to Mr. Miyagi in the franchise.

What happened to Mr. Miyagi?

Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi were last seen together in The Karate Kid Part III, where the former went on to win the All-Valley Tournament. After that, we saw Miyagi in The Next Karate Kid (1994) teaching Julie and LaRusso, who had a major role in Cobra Kai.

But it is only in the latest series that we came to know about the fate of the original sensei.

Cobra Kai introduced Sekai Taikai, a prestigious karate tournament on an international level. It turns out Mr. Miyagi was a part of it, as LaRusso finds in an official tournament. However, it seems like Miyagi's opponent didn't last, as the document clearly says 'DEATH.'

The final episode seals the fact that Mr. Miyagi is no more, as Daniel's mother, Lucille (Randee Heller), gives her granddaughter Sam (Mary Mouser) a necklace that Miyagi gave her to hold on to for Sam before he died. We don't know the date, but this tells us that Mr. Miyagi was still alive after Daniel had a daughter.