There are not many major “Miyagi-verse” Karate Kid cameos left for Cobra Kai to incorporate, except for Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce. While The Next Karate Kid did not succeed in launching a new Karate Kid series, Cobra Kai has proven that it can make any part of the Karate Kid universe better. One of the biggest problems with The Next Karate Kid was that it ignored the Daniel LaRusso films, a problem that can be solved decades later with Julie meeting Daniel.
Given that Cobra Kai is often referred to by the creators as part of the “Miyagi-verse,” The Next Karate Kid is considered canon to Cobra Kai. Unlike the 2010 Karate Kid reboot, The Next Karate Kid featured Mr. Miyagi and, despite the lack of connections with Daniel or Johnny, was the closest thing to a Karate Kid 4. With Cobra Kai season 5 effectively serving as a Karate Kid 3 sequel, it may be time for Cobra Kai to finally revisit The Next Karate Kid.
Daniel Has Always Known Julie (He Just Didn’t Mention Her)
The easiest way for Cobra Kai season 6 to feature Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce is to establish that Daniel has always known Mr. Miyagi’s other student – he just never mentioned her. The Next Karate Kid takes place after The Karate Kid Part III, meaning that Daniel was likely in college during the events of the film. Mr. Miyagi never directly mentioned Daniel to Julie, at least not during The Next Karate Kid. However, Cobra Kai revealed that Mr. Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso eventually reconnected and that the two remained family. As such, it is difficult to imagine that Miyagi never brought up Julie to Daniel at some point.
Obviously, revealing that Daniel has always known about Julie would be a retcon, as Daniel never mentioned Julie during Cobra Kai. When Daniel needed help against Terry Silver’s expanded Cobra Kai, for example, he asked for Chozen’s help and not for Julie’s. It could be said that Julie stopped practicing karate at some point or that Daniel never actually got to meet her, which would set up their first interaction in Cobra Kai. Regardless, with the new combined dojo preparing for Cobra Kai season 6’s Sekai Taikai, Daniel could recruit Julie as a new sensei ahead of the global karate tournament.
Julie Knows About Daniel (& Will Come To Him)
Another option for Cobra Kai season 6 is that Daniel does not know about Julie, yet Julie knows about Daniel. It is unclear what happened to Julie after The Next Karate Kid, but it can be assumed that she remained friends with Mr. Miyagi. Even if Julie and Daniel never met, Miyagi may have told Julie about Daniel at some point – perhaps before Daniel dropped college and returned home. It would be strange for Miyagi to mention Daniel to Julie but not mention Julie to Daniel, yet this could make for an interesting story. Cobra Kai season 6 could see Julie asking Daniel for help, with the latter finally learning about his “karate sister.”
Having Julie as the one seeking Daniel’s help would also flip the most recent Cobra Kai storylines. Recent Cobra Kai seasons have all been about friends and foes from Daniel LaRusso’s past coming together to fight John Kreese and Terry Silver, a dynamic that is already beginning to become repetitive. Having Julie ask for Daniel’s help would mean a new storyline and perhaps even new Cobra Kai villains. Granted, Ned Randall or Colonel Dougan don’t necessarily have to return, as a lot must have happened with Julie since The Next Karate Kid. Either way, a Daniel and Julie alliance would assure that Cobra Kai season 6 would avoid repetition.
Daniel & Julie Will Meet At The Sekai Taikai
Although having Daniel and Julie meet at the Sekai Taikai competition would be a bit too convenient, Cobra Kai has made unlikely crossovers work before. What happened to Julie after Karate Kid 4 is a blank slate for Cobra Kai, so the show could establish that Hilary Swank’s character continued to practice karate and eventually became a sensei like Mr. Miyagi. Julie may have started her own karate dojo inspired by Miyagi-Do but without Mr. Miyagi’s direct participation, meaning that Daniel LaRusso would never have heard of this “parallel Miyagi-Do”. That, of course, until Cobra Kai season 6’s Sekai Taikai tournament.
Both “Miyagi-Do-Fang” and Cobra Kai have been selected for the Sekai Taikai, yet Cobra Kai season 6 must feature new opponents if wants to live up to the “global tournament” promise. Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen should be challenged not only by the Cobra Kai villains audiences are already familiar with but also by fighters from all over the world with never-once-seen karate styles. That includes Julie, who may have developed her own take on Miyagi-Do. It would be quite a plot twist to have Daniel’s students facing Julie’s students given that they were both trained by Mr. Miyagi, plus it would avoid Cobra Kai’s repetitive “Miyagi-Do vs. Cobra Kai” dynamic.