Li Fong (Ben Wang) faces his opponent in “Karate Kid: Legends.” Courtesy of Sony Pictures

It didn’t occur to Ben Wang right away that in taking on “ Karate Kid: Legends ,” he’d be the franchise’s first Asian American “Kid.” And that gives him a lot of optimism.

“At first I didn’t even think about that,” Wang told The Associated Press. “That feels like a very cool and actually privileged position that I get to be in.”

His casting happened, he said, in “a world where that’s normal enough.”

“Karate Kid: Legends,” which opens Friday, unites OG Ralph Macchio’s Daniel and Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han from the 2010 movie to help Wang’s Li Fong win a New York City karate competition.

In the original “Karate Kid” movie, which came out more than 40 years ago, Pat Morita was the only main Asian Am

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