Cobra Kai star William Zabka shares his hopes for season 6 and beyond. The series serves as a continuation of the popular Karate Kid franchise, following the original film's hero, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), and villain, Johnny Lawrence (Zabka), as they mature into middle-age and struggle to let go of the past. After a season on YouTube Red and one on YouTube Premium, the show was subsequently picked up by Netflix, where it has since flourished. Set to hit the streamer on Sept. 9, it's unclear yet if season 5 will be Cobra Kai's last.
For Zabka's Johnny, in particular, Cobra Kai has acted as a rehabilitation of sorts for the character. Although redeemed somewhat by the end of The Karate Kid, and made more sympathetic by his brief appearance in The Karate Kid II, where Johnny is seen getting choked out by the Cobra Kai dojo master Kreese for losing his fight to Daniel, Cobra Kai has given the character a second chance. Going from bully to mentor and trainer for the bullied, such as his troubled young charge Miguel, the show turned Johnny into someone fully worth rooting for, even as he often makes mistakes and fails to let go of his grudge with Daniel. Season 5 looks primed to move beyond the Daniel/Johnny feud that has so far driven the show, to focus more on the expanding cast of characters around them.
Although season 5 has yet to air, that's not stopping Zabka from having thoughts on the show's future. In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Zabka shares his hopes that there's much more fuel in the tank, as long as the show retains its integrity and keeps the fans invested. Check out his quote below:
"There's nothing really we could say about that. Except we're not done, and there's no intentions of it being done. Clearly, we have a lot of real estate left to explore and more story to tell. But we don't want to overstay our welcome. It's going to be the right time for where it closes out. It's gonna be honest, as long as we're telling the truth and the fans are responding and people are being entertained, I think we'll keep marching."
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While Cobra Kai season 6 has yet to be officially announced, it's very likely a sure thing given the series' following. However, Zabka seems to think the show could have the potential to extend even beyond that. By continuing to expand its scope, and bringing back more legacy characters in interesting ways, he could be right. A great example of this is the reintroduction of Daniel's main foes from the Karate Kid sequels, Chozen and Terry Silver. Season 5 will see the two characters clash as they've both moved in such different life directions since their first appearances in the Miyagi-verse.
Unlike many other seemingly popular Netflix properties like Altered Carbon and The OA, which often don't make it past two seasons, Cobra Kai has lasted for its third season on the platform. Possibly due to a combination of its ties to a beloved franchise and its comparatively modest budget, the show has crane-kicked its way past the two-season hurdle. Hopefully, Netflix will keep it alive as long as Zabka and the show's writers have planned so that Cobra Kai can realize its full potential (and so that the scenes they've already filmed for season 6 despite no word on the show's renewal aren't for nothing).
Source: Screen Rant