Following the success of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky, one of the biggest trends of the 1980s became underdog sports stories, with one of the more iconic being The Karate Kid. Helmed by original Rocky director John G. Avildsen, the 1984 teen drama not only became one of the biggest hits of its year, but also spawned a franchise that is still going to this day, including two direct sequels and the Netflix TV show Cobra Kai, which has served as a legacy sequel to the original movies.