It's Daniel-san vs. Johnny again: 'Karate Kid' sequel series set
"'Cobra Kai' will be a true continuation of the original films — packed with comedy, heart and thrilling fight scenes."
"'Cobra Kai' will be a true continuation of the original films — packed with comedy, heart and thrilling fight scenes."
Cobra Kai just doesn't know when to quit.
Almost three decades after Daniel LaRusso's last on-screen appearance, "The Karate Kid" is returning with a comedy series on YouTube Red that appears to hew closer to the hit 1984 original than the underwhelming sequels and 2010 reboot.
"Cobra Kai" will be a 10-episode series that brings back the lead actors from the original: Ralph Macchio (Daniel) and William Zabka (the bullying Johnny Lawrence). Pat Morita — warmly remembered for his role as Daniel's mentor, Mr. Miyagi — died in 2005.
Due in 2018, the series features a down-and-out Johnny — who in the 1984 All Valley Tournament and apparently never recovered — reopening the villainous Cobra Kai dojo and reigniting his rivalry with Daniel-san.
"Like everyone who grew up in the 1980s, the three of us are enormous fans of The Karate Kid,鈥� writers and producers Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg said in a joint statement.
"'Cobra Kai' will be a true continuation of the original films — packed with comedy, heart and thrilling fight scenes. We can鈥檛 wait to reignite the LaRusso-Lawrence rivalry."
An important distinction: This will be the first entry in the saga to not use "The Karate Kid" for its title. And there's a reason for that, YouTube's global head of originals Susanne Daniels tells .
"If The Karate Kid was Daniel鈥檚 story, Cobra Kai is equal parts Daniel and Johnny鈥檚 story. Also because this is a series and not a movie, we really wanted to reimagine how the story was told. Changing the name made sense as part of that."