Courtesy of Sony Pictures Karate: Kid Legendsstar Ben Wang tells PEOPLE exclusively about costarring in the new movie with Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio One injury he sustained on set involved losing the tip of a pinky finger The sixth film in theKarate Kidfranchise is in theaters May 30 Ben Wangknew that starring oppositeJackie ChanandRalph Macchioin a martial arts movie meant a potential risk of injury. Still, he could not have prepared for what happened on the set ofKarate Kid: Legends. "I sliced off the tip of my pinky," Wang, 25, tells PEOPLE atCinemaCon 2025. "They regenerate. Did you know your fingertips regenerate?" Legendsis the sixth film in theKarate Kidfranchise, which began in 1984 with the original starring Macchio, 63, as Daniel LaRusso. He and Chan, 71, playing Mr. Han from 2010'sThe Karate Kid, return for a big-screen installment set after the events of television hitCobra Kai. Stepping into a beloved cinematic universe, Wang says his enthusiasm for the project outweighed any fear of costarring with screen legends. "Jackie Chan, he was my first idea of what an actor is, as a kid is," theAmerican Born Chinesestar says. The 2010 film "was like perfection for me.Jaden Smithwas so great in it." Jonathan Wenk/Columbia Pictures The originalKarate Kidand its sequels were favorites of Wang's aunt — who asked him to get Macchio's autograph when he was cast inLegends, he recalls. "She showed all of them to me when I was in middle school and it's a great franchise. It has a lot of goodwill. There's fans — and they're very adamant fans. So we want to make sure that we make a movie that serves them well." How exactly did he sustain such an alarming, finger-slicing injury? "I do a crazy spin on top of a table and I have to catch myself in the end," Wang explains. "They wrap a wire around you and there's a giant, burly dude who yanks that thing. And it kind of scraped my finger and whacked it against the bottom of the table that had metal bracings." To clarify, he adds, "You know when they test knife sharpness and they throw a carrot into it and you watch the piece come off? That kind of happened. It was a real bloody mess." Gabe Ginsberg/WireImage Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. But Wang is far from complaining. On one of the dozens of action movies Chan has starred in since the 1970s, he broke his fibula, the young star points out. "I didn't break my fibula. I had an owie on my pinky." Karate Kid: Legends, costarringJoshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley,Ming-Na Wenand more, is in theaters May 30. Among Wang's other upcoming projects areThe Long Walk(in theaters Sept. 12) andThe Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping(in theaters Nov. 20, 2026). Read the original article onPeople
