I say “kind of” because there are some pretty drastic differences between the new version and the 1984 classic starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita, highlighting Daniel’s adventure with karate and his battles with the Cobra Kai. This time around, the kid isn’t named Daniel, he’s Dre. And his mentor isn’t named Mr. Miyagi, he’s named Mr. Han. What’s more, Dre is played by Jaden Smith, son of megastar Will Smith, and Mr. Han is none other than Jackie Chan.

So they are clearly making this ‘remake’ into a retelling of sorts of the original movie, by changing these various aspects of it to adapt to the new script.

Considering how legendary the original Karate Kid movie is to millions of people around the world, I’m not sure this remake will be very well-received, although everyone seems to still like Jackie Chan. Still, the changes they’re making compared to the original are interesting to discuss and debate, that’s for sure.

The movie is due to hit theaters in June 2010.

What do you think about this remake and the changes they’re making from the original? Are these good ideas?

Here are a couple more of the new still photos that were released recently: