YouTube announces that Karate Kid sequel series you’ve been dreaming about

By Danette Chavez | August 4, 2017 | 3:52pm

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YouTube’s plans for original programming have mostly focused on adapting film franchises for the small(er) screen. In addition to a Step Up series with Channing Tatum at the executive producer helm, the website has just announced it will produce a sequel series to the Karate Kid film franchise. This news comes from today’s TCA panels, which YouTube had teased would feature a “reunion of the stars” that would blow everyone’s minds, by which we now see it meant would crane kick our expectations.

The series, titled Cobra Kai, will bring back Ralph Macchio, who played the deceptively wimpy Daniel LaRusso, and William Zabka, who played the decidedly jerky Johnny Lawrence in the first two movies. But after Johnny got his ass handed to him in Karate Kid II—and by his teacher, no less—he was replaced as antagonist by Sean Kanan’s Mike Barnes in the third film. Now 30 years later, there’s still a rivalry between Daniel and Johnny, which will make up much of the series. According to a press release, Johnny will try to reopen the Cobra Kai dojo, which proved to be a bad idea in the third movie, but when your business has such a cool name, you can’t just let it die, we guess. This will be create some issues with Daniel, who, despite being successful, is “struggling to maintain balance in his life without the guidance of his mentor, Mr. Miyagi.”