What similarities are there between ‘Back To The Future’ And ‘The Karate Kid’

So maybe it’s no coincidence these two movies are basically the same. Whether it’s having similar characters or the possibility of reboots from the same writers or even sharing the same actors, Back to the Future and The Karate Kid are sometimes interchangeable.

A Troubled Teen Boy

The ’80s were full of Tiger Beat magazine poster-worthy heartthrobs, and two, without a doubt, were Ralph Macchio and Michael J. Fox. While these two starred in other works prior, it was their respective characters in BTTF and TKK that left the fangirls swooning.

Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso and Fox’s Marty McFly are the teen leads of their films who go on unexpected journeys with their older male mentors as they both fight for their right to be where they are – whether that’s Reseda, California, or The Future.

The Older Mentor

Christopher Lloyd starred in BTTF as Doc Brown, the quirky but lovable scientist who unintentionally creates time travel and uses a DeLorean as his time machine. In TKK, the late Pat Morita played Mr. Miyagi, the karate sensei who takes Daniel under his wing and teaches him about both self-defense and life.

While Doc is much wackier and Mr. Miyagi is calm with a dry wit, these two characters act as the second protagonists in their films who befriend and guide a young teen who turns into their best friend.

Face Off With The Bully

Bullies play a key role in most 80s films, and BTTF and TKK are no exception. For BTTF, it was Thomas F. Wilson who played Biff Tannen, the not-so-bright bully to George McFly, both as teenagers and as adults. In TKK, it was William Zabka who played Johnny Lawrence, Daniel’s arch nemesis both at school and at karate tournaments.

In both films, the protagonists fight the antagonists at one point or another, either by beating them in the All Valley or inadvertently making them crash into a truck of manure.

The Same Girlfriend

In Back to the Future, Marty dates Jennifer, who doesn’t play a huge role in the first film before being brought to the future with Marty and Doc in the sequel. In The Karate Kid, Daniel wins over Ali (with an “I”), unintentionally stealing her from his nemesis Johnny Lawrence.

But what some may not know is that while BTTF’s Jennifer was first played by Claudia Wells, she was later recast with actress Elisabeth Shue for the second and third films, who is best known for her role as Ali in TKK and its Netflixreboot Cobra Kai, essentially giving Marty and Daniel the same exact girlfriend.

Trilogies

From The Breakfast Club to Say Anything to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, most 80s films were standalone. But some were the exception, getting sequels and sometimes even becoming trilogies. In the case of both Back to the Future and The Karate Kid, they got the honor of being 80’s trilogies.

Back to the Future came out in 1985, followed by sequels in 1989 and 1990. The Karate Kid came out just a year beforehand in 1984, with its sequel coming out the same year as Back to the Future II,and the third film following in 1994.

Almost Had The Same Lead Actor

While both Ralph Macchio and Michael J. Fox were successful before and long after their days as Daniel and Marty, it was their starring roles in their respective films that launched them to superstardom. But one of the actors almost got to play both characters.

After The Karate Kid rose Macchio to fame, he was asked to audition for the lead Back to the Future role of Marty McFly. “But the right guy was cast, just like the right guy was cast for Daniel LaRusso,” Macchio told People in 2019 of his audition for Marty.

Both (Might) Have Reboots

Fuller House. iCarly. Girl Meets World. It’s the way of the world in 2022 for popular shows and movies of the past to get reboots, and The Karate Kid is no exception. In 2018, Youtube Red (later switched to Netflix) premiered the series Cobra Kai, a follow-up to the Karate Kid movies starring original cast members Ralph Macchio and William Zabka.

As for Back to the Future getting a reboot – while Back to the Future: The Musical has been soaring through the West End and will soon travel to Broadway – the movie heads still have no plan to reboot the franchise, but the Cobra Kai writers just might. “If they ever change their minds and happen to check out Cobra Kai and like what we did with this in the world of Karate Kid, then we would be well-prepared for any meetings that we would have going forward,” said Jon Hurwitz, reported LRM Online in 2020.