‘Cobrai Kai’ Renewed For Season 5
by Erik Amaya
Cobra Kai‘s upcoming All-Valley Tournament will not spell the end for Johnny (William Zabka), Daniel (Ralph Macchio), and the rest of the Valley’s unified dojos.
Netflix announced Friday the series will continue for another season with production set to begin in Atlanta this Fall. The program, of course, continues the story of Daniel and Johnny some thirty years after their initial conflict in The Karate Kid. But the program has become so much more than that, honoring the ideas in the film — and even its sequels — while building a more complex, interesting, and diverse San Fernando Valley. Well, once you accept the conceit that the Valley is still obsessed with karate after all these years.
The program’s fourth season is set to debut this December and will see Johnny and Daniel unite their dojos to face off against John Kreese’s (Martin Kove) Cobra Kai. Presumably, he will be backed by the resources of the dojo’s real owner, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). Netflix announced in May the character (and actor) will make an appearance in Season 4.
But what of Season 5? The last nostalgia trick the show has yet to pull is an appearance from Julie Pierce (Hillary Swank) from The Next Karate Kid. Revealing how Daniel feels about her would be something worth discovering even as, say, Johnny somehow gets full control of Cobra Kai and turns into something more positive. We’re just speculating, of course. One of Cobra Kai‘s best features is the way it uses both nostalgia and their characters in unexpected ways.
Cobra Kai returns this December on Netflix.
