Inside the Action: Peng Zhang's Vision for Karate Kid: Legends' Iconic Fights

Stunt Coordinator Peng Zhang

A perfectly choreographed stunt scene does not just entertain, it holds a light to the heart of the story. This is displayed excellently in the newest chapter of the Karate Kid franchise, Karate Kid: Legends, which has the unique task of bringing together the old style of Jackie Chan’s kung fu and the newer style of Ralph Macchio’s karate in a way that not only entertains but tells a story.

Behind these kicks and choreographed chaos lies a rather challenging task: stunt coordination. 

Actor Jackie Chan on the set of Karate Kid: Legends

Peng Zhang is a well-established stunt coordinator with credits spanning a variety of projects, including the highly popular films: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Last Samurai, Pixels, and Ant-Man. With his extensive background in martial arts, Peng is able to create awe-inspiring choreography for movies, proving to be an integral part of Karate Kid: Legends, a film centered around powerful, grounded fight scenes.

He brings a clear philosophy and motive to each of his works, and when we interviewed him on his large role in the action-packed Karate Kid: Legends, he revealed the philosophies and background work that go into what is seen on the big screen.

You have an incredibly impressive background in stunt coordination across major films. What first drew you to this field, and how did that passion evolve into Karate Kid: Legends?

For almost the entirety of my life, martial arts has always played a crucial role in my personal identity. From my beginnings of growing up training martial arts and watching the classic martial arts films as a child and earning a university degree in martial arts instruction, to becoming a stunt performer and choreographer professionally, I have always kept martial arts and action design as a main component of who I am.

Stunt coordination was the next step in my journey as a lifelong martial artist, as it allows me to tell stories through my passion. 

I was especially drawn to Karate Kid: Legends because of how deeply connected it is with my roots and first love; martial arts. It was a beautiful opportunity for me to draw from my passion and personal experiences with the action as well as contribute to such a beloved franchise amongst the martial arts community.

You worked on Shang-Chi, a film deeply rooted in Asian culture and martial arts. How did your own cultural background or martial arts philosophy influence your approach to the choreography in Karate Kid: Legends?

Films like Shang-Chi and Karate Kid: Legends that are deeply rooted in eastern culture resonate with who I am personally and the culture that I grew up with. When designing the action for these films, I try to incorporate ideals that are embedded within martial arts culture along with the choreography.

I always strive to keep these themes, such as fighting for the sake of peace and honor, as the driving force of each action scene and allow them to bleed beyond just the choreography and moves themselves, telling a story inside the action.

Behind the scenes photo of the active set of Karate Kid: Legends

With this sequel bringing together iconic characters from the original films, are you blending any of the classic fighting styles from those past projects, or aiming for something totally new? Are there specific techniques or moments—like the iconic crane kick—that you’ve reimagined or paid homage to?

This film is special in the sense that we are blending together martial arts styles of karate and kung fu while also allowing Ben’s unique background to shine throughout the action. My goal was to find a way to offer a fresh take on the fighting styles in the Karate Kid universe while also respecting the original films and the moments that the fans fell in love with.

There are many similarities between the various movies and Cobra Kai, but I think that each of them have their own respective flavors, which I hoped to contribute to with Karate Kid: Legends.

You’ve worked on many high-profile action films. What sets Karate Kid: Legends apart creatively for you, and in what ways has it challenged or inspired you differently as a stunt coordinator?

It was both a challenge and an inspiration to bridge together the iconic styles of both Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio into a new and hybrid style of action. 

How did you approach choreography for Daniel LaRusso, known for his defensive style, compared to a new character like Li Fong, who brings a different martial arts background and energy to the film?

Both Jackie and Ralph had their previously established fighting styles from the original films, but this time, we see them unite to train their new disciple who would learn both styles. Li’s fighting style was designed to be a blend between his two teachers and the two different martial arts philosophies.

Can you walk us through your collaboration with director Jonathan Entwistle when it comes to designing action scenes that don’t just serve the purpose of displaying an action scene, but also serve the emotional plot of the story?

What was most important to me was to ensure that all of the action pieces complimented the overall story. I wanted to make sure that I fully understood Jonathan’s vision and choreographed the action around it to assist the story that he wanted to tell.

Stunt Coordinator Peng Zhang and Crew of Karate Kid: Legends

What’s been one of the most logistically complex stunts you’ve ever coordinated, and what seemed to be the main challenge?

The most significant stunt that we implemented into the film is the “dragon kick”. It is an advanced technique derived from martial arts tricking called the “shuriken cutter” and is paramount to our story, as a large piece of Li’s journey involves mastering the kick that he learned from his older brother and making it his own. 

When actors, like Jackie Chan and Ben Wang, occasionally choose to perform their own stunts, especially in a martial arts-heavy film like this one, what does the training and preparation process look like?

Stunts and martial arts choreography is coded inside of Jackie Chan’s DNA. He would come onto the set and be able to learn and perform whatever was necessary. No preparation is required for a man who eats, sleeps, and breathes action!

Ben, on the other hand, trained incredibly hard. His work ethic and dedication to his craft was exceptionally impressive. He trained in karate and many traditional kung fu styles such as wing chun, baji, and xingyi on top of learning the choreography for his fight sequences.

As Karate Kid: Legends ushers in a new era of martial arts to the screen, Peng Zhang’s work contributes to the space in a way more than just flashy stunts. For Zhang, his past martial arts experiences and East Asian culture are essential to showcase thoughtfully planned-out and exciting sequences, whilst also honoring the past films of the beloved Karate Kid franchise. 

xoxo, Samaira Gaind,

Research Intern