Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Cobra Kai season 3.
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Elisabeth Shue explains how The Boys led to her highly-anticipated appearance in Cobra Kai season 3. Once a webseries for YouTube, Cobra Kai is the sequel show to the beloved Karate Kid franchise. Set thirty years after the films, Cobra Kai centers on childhood rivals Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) as their contentious relationship gets rekindled when they take over opposing dojos. After its first two seasons, Netflix picked up Cobra Kai and turned it into an internet sensation. The third season dropped just a few days ago, on New Year's Day, and it brought plenty of surprises.
Perhaps the most thrilling part of Cobra Kai season 3 was the return of Elisabeth Shue's Ali. In the original Karate Kid, Ali is Johnny's ex and Daniel's new love interest; Daniel's feelings for her help kick off his rivalry with Johnny. Though Shue didn't appear in any further Karate Kid films, Ali's presence loomed large, and that even continued going into Cobra Kai. The end of Cobra Kai season 2 revealed Ali had friended Johnny on Facebook, leading fans to wonder if Shue would return. After a whole season of hype, Shue finally brought back Ali in the final two episodes of Cobra Kai season 3.
Initially, Shue didn't plan on appearing on Cobra Kai, but in a new interview with EW, she revealed an experience on another television show led her to reconsider. Shue starred in the first season of Amazon Prime's The Boys, and while filming the pilot, director Dan Tractenberg asked her if she would be making the jump to Cobra Kai. His enthusiasm in particular stood out to her. Shue said:
To be honest, I really hadn’t thought about being on Cobra Kai. When I showed up on the set [of The Boys] for the first day, Dan came right over and said, “You’re doing Cobra Kai, right?” I was like, “What? I don’t know… Do you think that’s a good idea?” He goes, “Is that a good idea? You have to be on Cobra Kai!” I said, “Why, why do you care so much?” He said, “You have no idea how important The Karate Kid is in my life.”
He told me what a great movie it is and how much he loved Cobra Kai, and that it would just be devastating — “devastating,” he kept saying — for the fans and for the memory of The Karate Kid if I wasn’t [on the show]. I was like, “Whoa – okay!” It was just very sweet, and it made me think, Oh, I haven’t really investigated this. Then I sat down with the three producers and writers who created it, Jon [Hurwitz], Josh [Heald], and Hayden [Schlossberg], and they were so lovely and similar to Dan — super Karate Kid fans. They really wanted to wait and have Ali come back this season, primarily I guess because it’s a reunion season. I said, “I’ll do whatever you need.”
Tractenberg's love for The Karate Kid is a sweet example of how much movies can mean to a person, and it's clear that affected Shue's perspective. As Shue said, she hadn't thought much of a Cobra Kai appearance, but it wasn't until she realized how much it would mean to fans that she changed her mind. Indeed, audiences were thrilled to see Ali return and stand alongside Johnny and Daniel once again, proving it was definitely the right choice for Shue. Though her stint on The Boys might have come to an unfortunate end, it proved beneficial in more than one way.
Ali's Cobra Kai return proved to be even more vital than just a simple bit of fan service, as she helped facilitate a truce between Daniel and Johnny. Considering the conflict that lies ahead for the two enemies-turned-allies in Cobra Kai season 4, it's definitely a relief that they will be standing together instead of apart. Whether or not Shue will pop up again remains to be seen, but if she doesn't, at least she made this one excellent curtain call in the Karate Kid universe.
Source: EW