Cobra Kai and Miyagi Do have been going at it for a while. A huge brawl at the school leads to Miguel being put in the hospital. Daniel and Johnny must reevaluate how their childhood rivalry affects their kids. Screen Rant was fortunate enough to sit down with Ralph Macchio and William Zabka who were both part of the original Karate Kid film.
After huge success on YouTube for their first 2 seasons, Netflix has decided to be the new home for Cobra Kai and help carry on the Karate Kid franchise. Be ready to see which dojo reigns the Valley in season 3 premiering a week early on January 1, 2021.
Good to see you again. So I'll start with you. One of the things I love about the show is you guys have gotten to work together a lot more and a lot closer than just doing another movie. So how has, has your dynamic changed over these three seasons?
Ralph Macchio: Yeah, that's very true. I was just listening to that yesterday. I was speaking to someone saying, you know, coming into it and there was such a, we had such high hopes for the show and, but you didn't know where it was going to land. And we knew sort of Billy and I knew right away, as soon as we did our first scene together that it had, you know, we had some, some connection beyond us that the chemistry was just here and so present. And then as time has gone on being through days like this, when we're talking about, or times when we're grabbing dinner or, or talking about our families and connecting as, as actors, as men, as fathers that has just solidified our friendship you know, to a deeper level. And so I think that plays into just what we bring to the table. There's a, there's a mutual respect. And every season I gained more respect for him as not only as an actor, certainly for his brilliant performances, Johnny Lawrence, but as a person and a father and a husband and all those things that I do as well. So we share a lot and we're sharing a journey that started when we started together and, and now it's built into this massive ensemble and we're just part of that. And it's really, it's really nice. It's really nice. And to see the embrace of the show around the world, the way it has been embraced on this level is you know, you'd sign up for that every day if he could. So we're, we're, I'm enjoying it.
Ralph, since the cat's out of the bag with the trailer, how does it feel basically reuniting with some of your cast from a previous film?
Ralph Macchio: Oh, it's wonderful. I mean, it's what I've asked for from the get go when this kind of, the concept of the show is pitched. To me, I wanted to explore those characters and we don't have Pat Morita with us anymore, obviously. So, but so I was like how to keep that, how to keep them Miyagi alive throughout the entire series. And it informed the show and informed the Laruso character and an essence. He will inform the Johnny Lawrence character and the Russo's kids and, and other people that he touches. So having Tamlin to meet and, and Ugi Okamoto who knocked it out of the park and just do a beautiful job, we got to go to Okinawa UGI, and I got to go to Okinawa, which karate kid part two, we shot in Hawaii and Los Angeles. So Cobra Kai has gotten Macchio and Larusso the country of Okinawa. And it was pretty special and those scenes are special to me and they, they, they brought their a game. They are just so wonderful. I think the fans are gonna, are gonna love it along with a lot of other great things this coming season. So it's special, good stuff.
Johnny was on the verge of having it all. Can we have them expect to find more balance between being a great sensei and you know, being an amazing father?
William Zabka: Yeah, I hope so. I think so he's on it. He's definitely on his journey. I don't know if he's on the verge. Yeah. Well, and to season two, he had it all ripped away from him, you know? Yeah, he, he had it almost led with his heart and, and had the rug pulled out from under him with a Kreese taken over the dojo and the, and the incident with his son injuring his, his student and his, his you know, his other son in a way. So yeah there's only up to go from there. But Johnny feels responsible for almost all of it. I mean, he was not there for Robbie and he was a failed father and he feels a tremendous amount of guilt for that and, and burden. And then as far as teaching Miguel, he feels maybe he taught him wrong to show mercy. Now he's questioning a lot of things, but you know, throughout the series of events, he gets himself together and pushes us forward. So I hope that he knows, he finds his balance. But he's got a lot of things to work out. And there are a lot of people in his way, characters in his way, especially Kreese, who was like his father who, you know who betrayed him and then he gave them a second chance and then he betrayed him again. And so that's that's actually really given Johnny a new wind in his sails and a new purpose because now he has to rescue those kids that Kreese has swoop from under him and in filling their heads with a bunch of garbage, as far as Johnny is concerned. And now Johnny is going to find a way to correct that. That's an exciting journey to be on and to play as an actor. And you know, I love the, where season three lands and what's coming next.
A bit of a followup to open our question for rounds. It's really that episode, those episodes really bring Daniel even closer to me. Augie. Was that an emotional way to realize how the show could still invent new Mr. Miyagi stories?
Ralph Macchio: Yeah, I think so. I think we early on, like I said before it's something I asked at the beginning of when they were starting to write season three. My note to the writers' room basically was let's learn something about this guy that we don't know let's mean LaRusso let's teach me something. I don't know, let's teach the audience something they don't know. And if that's through the Miyagi verse, then let's do that. Cause that's something that I was looking for once we got to the end of 20 episodes. So they did that and then some, and, and added this trip to Okinawa and LaRusso at the low point of needing to find answers and re-calibrate, find his balance. I think it's, you know, it, it works on many levels and one of which is connecting with Miyagi with him no longer there, but still having a connection by hearing his words that he wrote and learning what LaRusso meant to Miyagi, where he never looked at it that way, that Miyagi, might've been lost until Daniel knocked on his door and says, can you fix the faucet? And that turned his life around. That's a beautiful thing. That's some great writing right there. And then I have you know, Tamlin just could do no wrong and Ugi who just brings his a game and a fantastic turn and the chosen character. So I got to reap the benefits of that, and I'm excited for the fans to see it.
The show had a loyal fan base from the very beginning, obviously, but it blew up over the pandemic. And I was just wondering if you thought that because people felt particularly inspired and comforted by the show?
William Zabka: I think so. I mean, first of all, the pandemic has kept everybody locked down in a sense inside and to have the show enter their living rooms with these characters that they've known for all this all these years and decades. And I think it was like Ralph said, it's a little bit of comfort food with the characters and then the show is so relevant for today and really the themes I think of the show are relevant for today. And you know, it's not just good and evil and black and white, but there's shades of gray. And that you know, we should look at, look at the world through different people's point of view and try to come to some understanding and balance. In the meantime, on the backs of entertainment and some bad-ass karate and some eighties music and you know, and all that, it's a, it's a feel good show for that, that is bringing families together. And before even this, you know, when it was first on YouTube, you know, I get so many people telling me that, you know, I hadn't talked to my, my brother or my father or my son for many years in this show is inspiring me to reach out. And it's brought us back together. Those kinds of stories are amazing as an artist, to make an impact and to have that kind of response and a reaction from, from people. It's incredible. So Cobra, Kai has been definitely a good, good popcorn for, for the world during this time. And so yeah, it's, it's been thrilling and it's continuing to be amazing. And here we go, getting ready to shoot season four. So it's, it's, it's exciting to be a part of something that makes people feel good and gives them a good time and inspires them as well. A lot of people saying I'm not drinking anymore. I'm putting my bottle down where I'm going to take karate or you know, I'm going to be tough. I'm going to, I'm going to flip the script on my own life.
William, let me ask you, I think Johnny has had the most drastic change in these three seasons. What's it been like for you having played him now for that extended period, what's been the biggest surprise or the biggest difference in playing him now as compared to that character? We originally met so long ago?
William Zabka: Well, the writers keep me on my toes as far as the direction that he's going to go. You know, in the movie, it's a two hour film and it leads up to a crescendo and that's the end. This is ongoing. So it's been a little bit of a roller coaster ride emotionally there's times where you know, at the end of season two, I came home and I was just in the dumps. I'm like, man, this is, if the show stops here, this is the worst ending for Johnny that could ever happen. He lost his dojo, he lost the kids injured, you know? So, you know, and when we play these roles and they play these moments where we're really kind of living them. So the fact that, you know, season three comes and takes them into a new place, gives a new, a new, good feeling, you know, and then, so it's been an emotional journey. I really dive into this guy and get way deep inside. And, and there's a river flow and under him, that's only mine, but here we go to the end of season three and, and that has a whole new thing. So it's been amazing. It's really the writing, it's the writing. And then it's the actors. And and we're aware of what we're making, we're having fun with it. And so it's been, it's completely different from making Karate Kid, you know, which was just you know, scenes and this character. And you saw a little bit under his hood as far as who he really is as a person, this is taking a good look at him as he's figuring herself out as he's going through it and making his mistakes as he goes and making, making errors, even that the kids expense some times and teaching them wrong and then backing it up and saying actually sometimes have mercy by the way, you know, which leads to another problem. So I love the twists and turns, the ups and downs and all of that and the heart and the earnestness, the eagerness to be better. But he's also in conflict with himself, which makes it thrilling and conflicts with so many people. So it's awesome. I'm having a great time with the character.