In Cobra Kai season 4, the fate of the Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do, and Eagle Fang karate dojos is at stake as the series builds to the All Valley karate tournament. With Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) teaming up against Cobra Kai, John Kreese (Martin Kove) called in his old buddy from The Karate Kid Part III, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), for backup. Meanwhile, the students of the various dojos like Miguel Diaz (Xolo Mariduena), Sam LaRusso (Mary Mouser), Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), and Tory Nichols (Peyton List) navigate their complex personal issues as they prepare for the biggest fight of their lives.

Related: How Cobra Kai Season 4 Can Fix Karate Kid Part III's Failures

Screen Rant spoke to Cobra Kai executive producers Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg in a spoiler-free interview all about Terry Silver joining the show, Johnny and Daniel's new phase as friends, the new kids joining the dojos in Cobra Kai season 4, what to expect when everything comes to a head in the All Valley tournament, and even a tease of Cobra Kai season 5.

Screen Rant: Season 3 ended with the ultimate fist-pumping moment of Daniel and Johnny agreeing to work together. Knowing those two though, it won’t be smooth sailing in season 4. What can we expect from Daniel and Johnny trying to be friends?

Jon Hurwitz: We've seen their history. We've seen that they have two very different outlooks on life. They've sort of had a role reversal since childhood, so [being friends] is a totally new dynamic for them. So for them to finally come together after the wise words of Ali [Elisabeth Shue] and the necessity to team up against Kreese, as you said, it's not going to be smooth sailing between the two of them. Now they have to see if they can take their two karate philosophies that are ingrained within them - for Daniel, it's obviously Miyagi-Do [and] for Johnny it's Eagle Fang, which is his version of the teachings of Cobra Kai with a little bit of the Johnny twist. And their attempted union leads to sort of a philosophical conflict between them.

They're up against something pretty big this season. Kreese is no longer alone. He's brought in his reinforcements, as you've seen [in Cobra Kai season 4's trailer], Terry Silver. So they have a formidable foe. How are they going to take their two styles and combine them? It is a bumpy road and we'll see if they'll be able to come out the other side successful.

As you mentioned, Terry Silver is also back for season 4, which is super exciting. Everyone who saw Karate Kid 3 remembers the manipulator with the ponytail and the evil smile. 30 years later, is Terry the same guy, or has he changed?

Josh Heald: He's kind of like every other character we're bringing back into [the Cobra Kai] universe from the original movies. They've grown, they've reflected upon who they were, and they have an opinion about what life is like for them now and for the rest of the world now. We know with characters like Johnny, it was a life full of resentment. We know with characters like Chozen [Yuji Okumoto] in season 3, it was a life full of regret and embarrassment. We know with Daniel, it was a life full of rewards and looking back on the past as beautiful stepping stones to get where you're at.

I think audiences can expect [Terry Silver] to come in with a clear point of view as to who he was when we last knew him in [The Karate Kid Part III] and that will inevitably create some conflicts with the forces around him.

One of the interesting aspects of Terry Silver’s return is that Johnny has no idea who he is. I think he even said so back in season 1 when he tried to get Cobra Kai reinstated in the All Valley. Will Terry and Johnny have some interaction?

Hayden Schlossberg: Well, it's certainly possible if Terry Silver enters the world of Cobra Kai and Johnny's in the world of Cobra Kai that they may end up crossing paths. It's interesting, as you said because there's actually a lot of shared background [between Terry and Johnny] even though Johnny doesn't remember him or know of him.

They were on the Death Star 35 years ago but apparently, it was a pretty big Death Star and not everybody got to know everybody. (laughs) It's fun for us to take characters from the different Karate Kid sequels and put them together in ways that you didn't see in the movies. Those opportunities are quite plentiful on our show and we try to take advantage of them.

Cobra Kai Season 4 Images Show New And Returning Characters

I wanted to talk about Sam and Tory a little bit. Since season 2, they became the most intense and personal rivalry among the kids. What can you tease about what happens with Sam and Tory in season 4?

Jon Hurwitz: Last we saw them, Tory had broken into the LaRusso house and led a karate posse into that house. Yet again, Sam came out the victor there. To say there's unfinished business would be an understatement. There's clearly no love lost between the two of them. As we move forward into season 4, how is Sam going to respond to what's gone on with Tory? And what causes a person like Tory to do the things she's done? Maybe we get to explore a little bit of her world and see a little bit of her perspective.

All we can really say is that rivalry is far from finished. We're building to the All Valley tournament and there's always the potential for them to square off at some point during that tournament. But it's not just about fighting on the mat. It's about, can these two young women have a functional relationship in life without attacking one another every time they see each other?

Miguel and Johnny’s relationship has been one of the best parts of the show since day one. Johnny also got together with Miguel’s mom, Carmen, which Miguel doesn’t know about. Can you talk a little about what’s next for Miguel and Johnny in season 4?

Josh Heald: There's always new conflict and growth to explore with [Johnny and Miguel's] relationship. It's one of the central surrogate father/son stories of our universe. Obviously, there's the issue hanging in the balance of Johnny and Carmen and how that will affect Johnny and Miguel's relationship, for better or for worse. How will Miguel react to his sensei suddenly being his sensei if that news comes out?

There's also the possibility of new conflicts because there's not just one sensei in the dojo anymore. When you have Johnny and Daniel getting together, all of a sudden Johnny's students are inevitably going to be exposed to new ideas and new philosophies, and vice versa. There's inevitably and invariably going to be a lot of new ideas being adopted by kids who have only known one type of karate and one type of way to look at the world. You can infer a lot from the way Johnny and Daniel argue with each other and insist that the world is one way or another. You can imagine what might happen if that comes to a head in the dojo with shared relationships.

Cobra Kai has a huge cast and you guys do an amazing job evolving all of those characters. But you’re also adding some new young characters in season 4. What can you tell us about the new kids in the dojo?

Hayden Schlossberg: Daniel's son, Anthony [Griffin Santopietro] has a larger role in season 4. There are new characters entering the world. Kenny, played by Dallas Dupree Young, and Devon, played by Oona O'Brien. I'll just say that season 3 ended in a big, Star Wars-y way, with this fight that took place in multiple timelines. In Vietnam, a fight took place over a pit of snakes that was the origin of Cobra Kai.

We love going to these really big places but we don't want to lose track of what makes The Karate Kid work. We want to stay true to the roots of this franchise, which is really, ultimately, bullying and underdogs. We don't want it to be where all the kids on our show know a ton of karate and they're all great fighters. We wanted to introduce kids who haven't learned karate yet and are still in the beginning phase. It gives those kinds of original Karate Kid movie feels to it. You'll get some of that through the new characters this season.

Cobra Kai dojos

You ended season 1 with the All Valley and seasons 3 and 4 built to this year’s All Valley. Along with Karate Kid 1 and 3, this will be the 4th All Valley tournament in the overall saga. How are you keeping the tournament fresh and surprising in season 4?  I mean, besides the blue mats.

Jon Hurwitz: (laughs) For us, we always talk about now one of our favorite groups of characters in the series are the members of the All Valley karate board. We feel like that's us, that's our writer's room. It's like, "Okay, we're putting on this thing. How are we gonna make this special and unique and fresh?"

Rest assured, this is the biggest, most epic All Valley tournament that you've seen to this point. You're emotionally invested in so many more characters than you were in any of the other tournaments that have been in this franchise. By now, we have such a large cast and so many characters that you're rooting for or rooting against, depending on your perspective. Not only students but senseis. And there are so many relationships that are intertwined.

There's a lot to watch, there's a lot of excitement, there's some big surprises! And lots of kickass fighting. Our stunt team and our actors went above and beyond. What you're about to see is a spectacle that has a lot of emotion tied into it. We just cannot wait for people to see season 4 and that tournament in particular.

And you guys are wrapping Cobra Kai season 5. Congratulations! Personally, I hope the show keeps going but how much more story do you guys have to tell?

Josh Heald: We have more beyond season 5. We are not writing to the end of the series in season 5 right now. We can't believe we've filmed two seasons of the show this year. In our minds, it's crazy to believe how far ahead of the story we are than what the audience has seen so far. Season 5 is another enormous season with a lot of new flavors and a lot of things that you haven't seen before yet on the show. And it's not the end.

Next: Why Daniel's Daughter Needs To Win The All Valley Tournament

Cobra Kai season 4 premieres December 31 on Netflix.