After not appearing in any ofCobra Kai’sfinal episodes, many fans thought that a major character from the franchise would have a cameo inKarate Kid: Legends. Unfortunately, this didn’t end up being the case. Thecast ofKarate Kid: Legendsincludes Jackie Chan, who starred in the 2010 reboot film, Ralph Macchio, who was the original karate kid, and even features amajorCobra Kaicameo. However, despite these inclusions, the newest film in the franchise mostly focuses on a brand-new character, Li Fong.
InKarate Kid: Legends, Ben Wang plays Li Fong, a high school student who moves from Beijing to New York and ends up joining a karate tournament. Since its release,reviews forKarate Kid: Legendshave been somewhat mixed, but Screen Rant’s own Mae Abdulbaki gave it a 7 out of 10 and claimed that the film proves the franchise still has a lot of potential. Even though it arguably begins a new era for the franchise,I was still hopingKarate Kid: Legendswould include Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce, who hasn’t appeared since 1994’sThe Next Karate Kid.
Hilary Swank Does Not Appear In Karate Kid: Legends
Swank’s Character Isn’t Even Mentioned In Karate Kid: Legends
Leading up to the release ofKarate Kid: Legends, many fans thought that Swank’s Julie Pierce may appear in the film. Her inclusion wouldn’t have been out of place since the movie also includes Chan and Macchio. Even though Chan’s Mr. Han and Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso are more popular characters in the franchise,Julie Pierce could still arguably be considered a “legend” since she was the main character in the fourthKarate Kidmovie.
81%
49%
18%
20%
67%
Karate Kid: Legends (2025)
59%
Karate Kid: Legendsis a movie that honors Mr. Miyagi, who taught both Daniel and Julia. While Mr. Han refers to Daniel as Mr. Miyagi’s greatest student in the film, there is no mention of Julie. This is not entirely surprising, sinceThe Next Karate Kidis the second lowest-rated movie in the franchise. However,it’s disappointing that the series continues to ignore Swank’s character.
Hilary Swank Has Yet To Return To The Karate Kid Franchise Since Cobra Kai
Swank Didn’t Want To Appear In Cobra Kai
Before the release ofKarate Kid: Legends, fans also hoped that Swank might reprise her role as Julie Pierce inCobra Kai. Even thoughThe Next Karate Kidwas received poorly,Cobra Kaiwas a critically acclaimed series and potentially could have given Swank’s character a great storyline. Despite this, Swank was clearly not interested in appearing inCobra Kai. After the final episodes of the series premiered on Netflix, co-creator Jon Hurwitz revealed that they tried to getHilary Swank inCobra Kaiseason 6. He said:
It wasn’t for lack of trying. We always loved the idea of Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce showing up in Cobra Kai’s final episodes, but it wasn’t meant to be. We spoke with her reps several times, but never actually had the opportunity to speak directly with her. At the end of the day,she wasn’t interested in engaging at this time. We respect her wishes and remain huge fans.For what it’s worth, I’m a firm believer that these things happen or don’t happen for a reason. Perhaps one day she’ll return to the Miyagiverse.
Even though she didn’t appear inCobra Kai, a lot of fans still had hope that Swank might be more tempted byKarate Kid: Legends, which is the first movie in the franchise in 15 years. It’s unknown whether the creative team behindLegendswanted Swank to appear, but she unfortunately doesn’t have a cameo in the movie. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that Julie Pierce was never considered to be included inKarate Kid: Legends, or that Swank simply just doesn’t want to ever return to the franchise.
It’s Annoying That The Karate Kid Franchise Has Yet To Acknowledge Julie Pierce
Nothing Is Known About Julie Pierce Post-The Next Karate Kid
Based on Hurwitz’s comments, it seems like it was Swank’s decision not to appear inCobra Kai, but it’s still a shame that the franchise hasn’t acknowledged Julie Pierce sinceThe Next Karate Kid. Even if Swank isn’t interested in returning,Cobra KaiorKarate Kid: Legendscould have included a line about what Julie may be up to. Instead, the Netflix series and the new movie both act like Julie doesn’t exist in theKarate Kiduniverse.
This is a shame, especially since so many other characters from the original movies have reprised their roles.From what we have seen, Julie was Mr. Miyagi’s second most important student, only behind Daniel. Therefore, even ifThe Next Karate Kidreceived poor reviews, Julie still deserves to be acknowledged. Because of this, I’m disappointed thatKarate Kid: Legendsdoesn’t at least include a reference to Swank’s character andThe Next Karate Kid.
