'Karate Kid' TV Sequel Cast, Plot News: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka Return in 'Cobra Kai'
The "Karate Kid" sequel is finally happening. The original stars from the 1984 film, Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, are involved in the follow-up series called "Cobrai Kai."
Macchio and Zabka happily smiled and posed for Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the show's Atlanta set where filming began this month. The actors confirmed they will be playing their original roles, the rivals Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, in "Cobra Kai."
The series will pick up 30 years after the first "Karate Kid" with Daniel doing quite well as a father and car dealership owner, and Johnny struggling as a drunkard with no permanent job. Their rivalry sparks anew, which will push Johnny to set up his own dojo.
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"Johnny befriends one [of Daniel's kids] and that is how it connects that world into our own rivalry world," Macchio explained. "There's a tremendous amount of heart and kick-ass action sequences and martial arts, but the inherent humor comes from the fact that these are two guys who are in their 50s and still have an ax to grind."
Fans of the movie will be happy to know that Daniel's karate mentor Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) will be honored in the sequel in many ways. This will be the show's tribute to Morita, who died in 2005.
Viewers new to the world of "Karate Kid," however, won't be left out even if they have not seen the movies. "Cobra Kai" is a present-day half-hour comedy series with 10 episodes, which will stream on YouTube Red. Macchio is confident the show will find a new audience on this platform.
John Heald ("Hot Tub Time Machine"), Jon Hurwitz ("Harold and Kumar") and Hayden Schlossberg ("American Reunion") wrote the scripts to "Cobra Kai." Hurwitz and Schlossberg will share director duties while Macchio and Zabka are executive producers. The series will air sometime in 2018.
