Cobra Kai Teaser Trailer

[JBatmanFan05]

That was actually one of Kanan's own ideas, another of which is Mike now being a dudebro niceguy (I'm not as much a fan of that one though).

Yea, I just googled up the interview where Kanan mentions all these things you said (as interests/possibilities), I had not read these interviews:

During the interview, Kanan also discussed how he believes Mike’s life turned out following the events of “The Karate Kid Part III.” He noted that he would be interested in the character joining the military, where he becomes “a good guy.” He then revealed that he could see the martial artist making a career out of being “an anger management coach.”

https://heavy.com/entertainment/cobr...urns-season-4/

In a way it might be fitting thematically, fit the trend, if Barnes joins Chozen and Johnny in the "former young bully beaten by LaRusso and later become good guys" club. The "old" guys (Kreese, Terry) stay the same (more or less), but the kids changed, Daniel/Miyagi broke CK's hold over the young bullies.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Well I think the distinction is Kreese and Silver were grown adults picking on a child. Chozen was a kid like Daniel who from his perspective had Daniel stealing his girl and his family legacy. Certainly not an excuse for fighting to the death but Chozen actually chose death when he lost so for him it was a fight to the death for his twisted sense of honor. Chozen also had Kumiko bridge the gap between he and Daniel ie someone Daniel trusted unlike Silver who showed up with Kreese. I doubt Daniel gives Chozen a chance if not for Kumiko introducing them and he was still weary when they later fought as Chozen pretended he was still angry.

So I think the distinction is Chozen earned forgiveness while Silver seemed to demand and expect it with no actual effort on his part required.

Also Sato spent Chozon’s entire life telling him how Miyagi was dishonorable and that he walked out on a fight to the death like a coward. Then he flipped on a dime in the middle of a Hurricane and disowned Chozon in a matter of minutes for not helping the student of guy he grew up being told to hate.

Terry was just nuts and wanted to mess with Daniel out of revenge for beating his friends dojo a year ago.

[dswynne]

I'm honestly not worried about him, the only questions are when, and will it be a cameo or a multi-ep arc.

What I AM worried about, coincidentally, was addressed in the last 24 hours. Well, sort of:

“All we can say about her is we love Hilary Swank. We think she’s a phenomenal actress and we love her character in this franchise. She was taught by Mr. Miyagi and she’s somebody who is important to the Karate Kid universe. We can’t say if she’ll return, we can’t say how she’d return if she was going to return.”

Sounds like the producers might use Swank for their spin-off series or movie, since THE NEXT KARATE KID is technically a spin-off of THE KARATE KID.

[Tien Long]

Hi all. Binged watched season 4 last week. Many posters have given some interesting thoughts. As for my own:

- Rewatched a ton of clips since the end of the season. There were a lot of great fights and moments. What I haven't watched though have been clips of Kenny. Just seeing his story arc from a good, mild-mannered computer playing kid to that threatening bully at the end was very devastating. Kudos to the actor for his portrayal. His characterization from episode one to episode ten are night and day.

- Of course Kenny's turn was due to Anthony LaRusso. After being the forgotten character for all of these seasons, it's nice to see that he gets a story arc. Again, Cobra Kai plays with shades of grey. Is he a bully? Or is he being egged on by his bully friends? Is he a victim of his parents' lack of attention? Seeing Anthony give Daniel that stare when Daniel broke his device was intense. In the same vein, did anyone else feel that Samantha was edging towards the dark side this season? Yes, people say that she's just learning Eagle Fang and was frustrated over how Daniel wouldn't allow her to be her own person. But wow, she was giving some angry vibes during the tournament. And her threats against Tory at school made me think she flipped and became the bad guy this season.

- Terry's takeover of Cobra Kai was subtle and unexpected. Yet it made sense. In much the same way as Kenny, Terry flips 180 degrees from the beginning of the season to the end. Kreese is conniving and merciless, but Terry is something else. His betrayal of Kreese at the end was a true shock. Also loved how he still puts that fear into Daniel. Just wish there was more interaction between him and Johnny. That fight was way too short.

- The younger cast is really stepping up here, both in terms of acting, story, and fighting. For me, Robbie is becoming more of an independent figure who is rising above the factionalism and learning that he's making the same mistakes as his father as can be seen with the way he influenced Kenny. Tory is becoming more sympathetic and Amanda is trying to reach her. My one complaint? Miguel. I'm just not feeling it with him. He's one of the main protagonists but I didn't see him play a big role this season. Yes, he has the father/son dynamic, either with Johnny or Daniel. Seeing his own father in Mexico City is sure to be a big plot point in season 5. But his presence was dampened because of a lack of fighting.

- Totally cheered when Chozen arrived at the end. He's the X-factor against Cobra Kai. I've read comments saying how Johnny, Kreese, and Terry are familiar with Daniel. But they don't know anything about Chozen. Chozen isn't weak or defensive. He shows how strong Miyagi-Do can be. Personally, I'm hoping to see his interaction with Terry. Terry is cold, calculating, and conniving. Chozen is a warrior who will barrel through that. Also, want to see more of how Chozen gained redemption with Sato's help. Again, Sato was the one who put Chozen on that path of hatred. So how did Sato pull him out of it? Definitely thinking that Chozen will be the new sensei of Eli, Robbie, and Sam.

[Tien Long]

That actually would make a good bit of sense (and the military could be Terry's "in" with rekindling with Barnes). Though, with Terry & Kreese reeking of military, maybe the showrunners might sense some lack of novelty there. They might want to throw us for some surprising loops with Barnes (like maybe he's a good guy now, or he's a boring out of shape insurance salesman or a rural guy living out in the middle of nowhere or he's a married gay guy or etc).

That was actually one of Kanan's own ideas, another of which is Mike now being a dudebro niceguy (I'm not as much a fan of that one though).

Where could Mike be? Should Barnes come back to the Karate Kid universe? Perhaps. For me, I'm a little concerned with how much the producers mine the Karate Kid past. We already got a character back from Karate Kid 3. Should we get more? That's if the producers can give subvert expectations and give Barnes depth. I like the idea of a military man, but the military theme has been played out with Kreese and Terry. A dudebro nice guy? It's unexpected and welcome. But if he turns to Cobra Kai, well, that's redundant, right? Terry already did that. Still, trusting the producers to make the right call.

[Tien Long]

Sounds like the producers might use Swank for their spin-off series or movie, since THE NEXT KARATE KID is technically a spin-off of THE KARATE KID.

It's a gamble with Hilary. Here is character from the least known and arguably the least liked Karate Kid movie. She's also an Academy award winning actress. Would she give a Netflix show the time of day?

Still, she has story potential. From what I know, she was dealing with a lot of anger issues. Hence why she took up Miyagi-Do. Some Cobra Kai fans say that Daniel knows her since she was at the funeral of Mr. Miyagi so she could turn up. She could be another mentor figure, especially for Sam or Tory. I think Sam and Tory have had a lot of experience with male mentorship, and would benefit from a female perspective.

As an aside, Hilary has been through a lot lately. She had been taking care of her father for many years before he passed away back in October:
https://www.today.com/popculture/pop...eath-rcna10618

If she wants to come back again, that'd be cool. But I think the producers of Cobra Kai show some prudence and give her some time.

[Immortal Weapon]

Where could Mike be? Should Barnes come back to the Karate Kid universe? Perhaps. For me, I'm a little concerned with how much the producers mine the Karate Kid past. We already got a character back from Karate Kid 3. Should we get more? That's if the producers can give subvert expectations and give Barnes depth. I like the idea of a military man, but the military theme has been played out with Kreese and Terry. A dudebro nice guy? It's unexpected and welcome. But if he turns to Cobra Kai, well, that's redundant, right? Terry already did that. Still, trusting the producers to make the right call.

We should get more. Silver put into motion the plan to turn Cobra Kai into a franchise with dojos all over the valley. Reaching out to previous students would be the easiest way to get the ball rolling with that. Barnes has been alluded twice in this season. Cobra Kai expansion is a natural way to bring him back.

[Tien Long]

We should get more. Silver put into motion the plan to turn Cobra Kai into a franchise with dojos all over the valley. Reaching out to previous students would be the easiest way to get the ball rolling with that. Barnes has been alluded twice in this season. Cobra Kai expansion is a natural way to bring him back.

If Barnes does come back, here's crossing the Crane Kicks that he's a great addition. Barnes had a lot of anger, but he shared Terry's business sense. With Terry launching dojo's across the valley, maybe we'll get to see him become a business owner.

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but one of the characters I'm really pushing to come back would be Darryl Vidal. Vidal was fighter from the first Karate Kid who seemed a notch above the other competitors in tournament. He even reached the semi's to face Johnny:



Darryl is immensely important to Karate Kid. He was the actor who did the Crane Kick on the beach pillar back in KK 1. He's still practices and teaches martial arts and has given some interviews about his background and about possibly being part of the series:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibgFD-ya7qU

Finally, he's been name dropped several times during the series. It would be cool to see him represent another style Karate which is unrelated to either Miyagi-Do or Cobra Kai.

[Captain Craig]

I just finished S4 of Cobra Kai.
This show continues to be a great spiritual successor to the original films. I've still not seen Next Karate Kid all these, ahem, decades later but I should.

• Bringing back Terry Silver was great. I felt he would be one & done this season but that is clearly not the case. WOW at framing Kresse for Stingray's but whopping, in collusion with Stingray!!
• Eli beat Robbie, that was good to see.
• Tory didn't win fairly. Because the ref was paid off. He should've deducted her a point for that black eye hit clearly. Where are we with Sam's thoughts on this, that was left hanging. As was her moms thoughts.
• Very interested in Miguel's search next season.
• Chozen is teaming up with Daniel to strengthen Miyagi-Do. Interesting, so he just was able to pick up and leave home to come settle a local grudge match...hmmmm. Honor, I suppose?
• What about Anthony Larusso and his bubbling grudge issues with Kenny. Freshman year looks to be a bit repeat S1 of this show in some regards. Hope that doesn't reek of the show getting stale.

I can understand why Tory had to win...the show is called Cobra Kai. I wish it had been fairly but again...Cobra Kai. I suppose it would be like expecting Decepticons to fight with honor. It's not who they are.
Season 5 debuts end of 2022 or have they said yet? I know it has filmed/is filming.

[JBatmanFan05]

Season 5 debuts end of 2022 or have they said yet? I know it has filmed/is filming.

Production ended in December. I'm hoping for a summer release, but if the past is the indicator, then more like end of year is likely.

I can understand why Tory had to win...the show is called Cobra Kai. I wish it had been fairly but again...Cobra Kai.

Also....sowing the storytelling seed for how Silver's CK might be undone.

The payoff also felt like something you think Silver might/would have done in KK Part III, given his wealth and (in KK III) the bribery he had planned for that prosecutor opening the grand jury on him. The money is a key thing that distinguishes Terry a lot from Kreese and this show further illustrated that.

[Tien Long]

Hey all. Check out the teaser images from season 5:

https://ew.com/tv/cobra-kai-season-5...hotos-netflix/

Barnes is back baby!!!! And looking better than ever! Plus, there are some other surprises as well.

[JBatmanFan05]

I am excited. I believe I observed a wedding ring on Barnes's hand (which may offer us the tiniest nugget of what he's been up to since III).

[Tien Long]

Yes! Johnny and Chozen team up! Lots of other good stuff in this clip!

[Captain Craig]

Hope this show goes out on the high note the series has been riding!!!

[JBatmanFan05]

What a great season 5 this was.