Main Karate Child Characters Who By no means Appeared On Cobra Kai

Spoilers for “Cobra Kai” Season 6 Half 3 to comply with.

After six unbelievable seasons with some genuinely wild plot threads sweeping the legs of audiences, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) has taken over the Cobra Kai dojo as Sekai Taikai champion, changing into a sensei with classes of his personal to study. Alongside the best way, he and his foe-turned-friend, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), encountered loads of forgotten faces from the unique “Karate Child” trilogy. Staples like John Kreese (Martin Kove) and Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) have precipitated steady points for our heroes. On the similar time, fan favorites like Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) nonetheless had tales to complete by the point the final punch was thrown. However even in spite of everything that, might the visitor checklist for Miyagi-Do have been a bit larger? Might time have been made to carry another important gamers within the “Karate Child” franchise again for a last spherical, and if not, then why?

If short-fused foot troopers like Sean Kanan’s Mike Barnes might make a comeback and throw a little bit of spice into the “Cobra Kai” story, there isn’t any purpose {that a} handful of different characters could not have as nicely. Let’s not neglect that this nostalgic gamble, which gained immense reputation after it moved from YouTube to Netflix, had 5 movies to tug from and solely revisited three. With that in thoughts, listed below are a handful of key characters the present might have gotten a faucet in on the battle however have been as an alternative left to face on the sidelines.

He might need pale out of sight within the authentic film, however when it counted, Freddy Fernandez (Israel Juarbe) was Daniel LaRusso’s non permanent tour information when he first moved to Los Angeles from New Jersey. Freddy was the closest factor to a good friend in our hero’s new residence till his life-changing beating from Cobra Kai’s then-model scholar. At that time, Freddy’s buddies wasted no time ditching Danny to keep away from the second-hand embarrassment. By the point Danny reached the All-Valley event, Freddy and his buddies rapidly modified their tune, cheering on the hero. Regardless of this, they have been by no means seen once more within the “Karate Child” movies after that.

In Season 1 of “Cobra Kai,” Daniel and Johnny swing by South Seas Residences for a visit down reminiscence lane, however there isn’t any point out of the place Fernandez ended up after Danny was kicked out of the constructing in “The Karate Child Half III.” There’s an opportunity Freddy had already moved earlier than it was offered, however in Season 2, Freddy’s title reappears once more. LaRusso trains a few of his college students in a meat locker owned by Fernandez Meat Co., which was probably a nod to the character, despite the fact that the corporate’s proprietor by no means appeared. It is a disgrace, as it might’ve been good to see Freddy seem within the present, cheering for his previous pal like earlier than or perhaps even being the mother or father of one of many many college students that handed out and in of the Valley dojos.

The followers begged for it, and the creators of “Cobra Kai” definitely heard them. Sadly, even after the hit Netflix present ended, there was no signal of Oscar-winner Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce, aka “The Subsequent Karate Child.” Actually, although, why would there be? Regardless that she and Daniel LaRusso had the identical instructor, they by no means really crossed paths, which explains why she by no means acquired concerned in “Cobra Kai.” It merely wasn’t her battle, in spite of everything. However for essentially the most half, “Cobra Kai” was about honoring legacies and respecting what got here earlier than, together with the title of Mr. Miyagi. This purpose would’ve offered Pierce the right alternative to become involved if she wished to, and was one thing that even Macchio believed would work.

Showing on “Jake’s Takes,” Macchio defined, “Anybody who knew Mr. Miyagi and interacted with Mr. Miyagi is canon for our present, for the ‘Cobra Kai’ present,” giving Pierce a free cross. No matter Macchio’s ideas, this sadly did not occur, irrespective of how cool it might’ve been. However simply because Pierce did not make a comeback, it did not imply supporting characters from her story could not have appeared, both. There nonetheless might’ve been house for an additional character from “The Subsequent Karate Child,” who might’ve made the present’s iconic unhealthy guys much more of a risk.

Within the ’80s and ’90s, you’d name Michael Ironside in case your movie required a concrete-chinned, grizzly-voiced foil to trigger issues. This display screen legend tried to break everybody’s day, from Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Whole Recall” to pleasant killer whales in “Free Willy.” For “The Subsequent Karate Child,” Ironside crammed the Kreese-shaped villain mould as Colonel Paul Dugan, the instructor of the Alpha Elite within the 1994 movie. Similar to his co-star in “The Subsequent Karate Child,” Ironside by no means appeared with Swank in “Cobra Kai,” however given the additional exploration of the present’s villains, there was maybe much more purpose for it to occur.

Main as much as and after the reintroduction of Terry Silver, audiences have been handled to flashbacks of his time within the Vietnam Struggle alongside his former brother-in-arms, John Kreese. These journeys down reminiscence lane might’ve offered a simple hyperlink between the LaRusso and Pierce eras of unhealthy guys, on condition that Dugan was really a colonel at the moment and will have simply as simply crossed paths with the 2 different villains whose worlds have been rocked by Mr. Miyagi. Whereas this by no means got here to cross, it is a good factor it did not, contemplating that these two longtime villains met their demise on a ship and have been by no means heard of once more. Who is aware of, although? If we ever get a reunion with Johnny Lawrence, Dugan could possibly be the brand new huge unhealthy to carry hassle into the Valley and perhaps even do a greater job than Kreese or Silver ever did.

It is borderline hilarious how maybe one of the crucial logical characters that ought to have dropped in on the “Cobra Kai” finale is definitely one of the crucial illogical. Mr. Han was the Miyagi-type mentor within the 2010 reboot of “The Karate Child,” who taught his pupil kung fu (not karate) in China (not Japan), however franchise familiarity outweighed altering the movie’s title. Now, 15 years on, that culturally inaccurate remake is getting retconned as a franchise spin-off, with Han set to return and swap instructing strategies with Daniel LaRusso in “Karate Child: Legends.”

In consequence, it might have made sense for Han to drop by the LaRusso family in a Nick Fury-esque method to tee up the brand new movie, however that did not come to cross. It could nicely have been attributable to the truth that not one of the creators of “Cobra Kai” are contributing on to “Legends,” so Han did not get the invite, which might have undoubtedly outshone the top of the six-season sequence. Nonetheless, could not even a quick look from Han be an additional deal with for followers on the finish of the present? Maybe a silhouette knocking on Daniel’s door and even showing in his dojo like he does in the trailer for “Karate Child: Legends” (which goals to attach the franchise’s disparate components like a contemporary new bandana). All we are able to do now’s look forward to Might 30, 2025, for the crossover we by no means knew we would have liked or might actually perceive.

It seems that despite the fact that Will Smith is a producer on “Cobra Kai,” there was no alternative within the present at any level to incorporate his son Jaden as Dre, his character from the 2010 model of “The Karate Child.” The titular youth, who discovered the methods of kung fu in that movie, has completely no information of Mr. Miyagi or the legacy that continued after his passing, so attempting to shoehorn him into “Cobra Kai” would’ve made no sense. However simply because “Cobra Kai” may’ve forgotten about Dre, that does not imply his instructor has.

With “Karate Child: Legends” simply across the nook and Han turning to LaRusso to assist a brand new martial arts prodigy (that is proper, Jackie Chan is popping to Ralph Macchio for assist with martial arts), there is a chance that Dre might flip up within the film. It could make sense for the previous scholar to verify in on his grasp, simply as Daniel did with Miyagi for therefore a few years up till his passing. It would sound pressured, however let’s not neglect that this universe has simply seen two previous guys battle to the loss of life on a ship earlier than it was blown to bits. Stranger and way more ridiculous issues might occur.

“Cobra Kai” is now streaming in its entirety on Netflix.