Cobra Kai creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg are teasing an even bigger season 4. Set thirty-four years after Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) defeated Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in the 1984 All Valley Tournament featured in The Karate Kid, Cobra Kai has become a massive hit for Netflix after the streaming service scooped up the relatively obscure series from YouTube Premium.
Centering on Johnny and his endeavor to rebuild his former karate dojo as a sensei, Cobra Kai features a new influx of karate students who are immersed in trials and tribulations, while also focusing on the perdurable rivalry between Johnny and Daniel. Earlier this year, Cobra Kai season 3 debuted and quickly topped the charts in Netflix viewership ratings. Consisting of highly anticipated cameos from The Karate Kid franchise, ‘80s movie references, and plenty of violent fight scenes, Cobra Kai season 3 ended with major plot twists and unanswered questions. Now, it appears Cobra Kai's creators have a lot more in store for season 4, which recently wrapped production.
During a Paley Front Row panel posted by Yahoo! and moderated by Collider's Perri Nemiroff, all three co-creators discussed season 3 and what's to come in the new episodes. Keeping plot details under wraps, Heald revealed Cobra Kai season 4 will be "even bigger" than previous seasons. Check out his full comment below:
All I can say is it was really important for us to end season 3 the way we did with a kind of like ‘yah’ as a feeling as opposed to ‘aw’ where season 2 went. And we want to deliver that feeling. We want to keep providing the dopamine that generates that good feeling. We want to make sure we’re delivering on goosebumps, on tears, on belly laughs, and fist bumps. It’s the same recipe with different tastes and everything else, but it’s even bigger so we’re really, really proud of what we’re making so far. I can’t wait for you to see what everybody’s doing.
Based on Heald's tease, it sounds like the new episodes will offer more shocking moments, emotional scenes, intense fighting choreography, and even bigger events. Of course, Cobra Kai season 4 appears adamant about evolving the fierce rivalry between Sam LaRusso (Mary Mouser) and Tory Nicholas (Peyton List), as List has been promoted to a series regular. Furthermore, Cobra Kai season 4 is throwing in some fresh faces to the mix with the addition of newcomer Oona O’Brien as Devon, whose character has been speculated as presenting an interesting new path for Tory.
Indeed, each season of Cobra Kai continues to top its predecessors in terms of peppering in original cast members of The Karate Kid franchise and major plot twists. According to the creative forces behind Cobra Kai, audiences can expect the upcoming season to not hold anything back. While Cobra Kai has had no shortage of callbacks to the original films, the new faces of the supporting characters and their compelling story arcs have certainly hooked a new generation of viewers. Cobra Kai season 4 debuts on Netflix later this year.