Ralph Macchio and William Zabka return for Cobra Kai series on YouTube Red

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Fri, 02/16/2018 - 07:36

From EW:

The doors of Cobra Kai have reopened in EW’s exclusive teaser trailer for the Karate Kid sequel series, named after the infamous karate dojo.

“I just don’t know why you’d ever want to bring back Cobra Kai,” Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso tells his former high school bully, William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence.

It’s been nearly 34 years since moviegoers saw these two face off at the All Valley Karate Tournament in 1984’s The Karate Kid. They met again on screen two years later with The Karate Kid Part II, and now Johnny is seeking redemption.

With Johnny’s life taking a turn for the worse, the first Cobra Kai teaser sees flashes of him reopening his old dojo stomping grounds. That doesn’t sit well with Daniel, who has since been leading a picture-perfect life as a family man and successful car dealer.

“We are not trained to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak,” Johnny tells his new pupils in the video. So, maybe he hasn’t really learned his lesson.

Cobra Kai will see Xolo Maridueña (Parenthood) as Miguel Diaz, a victim of high school bullies who’s taken under Johnny’s wing; Tanner Buchanan (Designated Survivor) as Johnny’s son, Robby Keene, who’s determined to prove himself to be nothing like his father; and guest-star Ed Asner as Johnny’s old-school stepfather, Sid Weinberg.

Courtney Henggeler (Mom) will play Daniel’s wife and business partner, Amanda, while Mary Mouser (Freakish) plays their firecracker daughter, Samantha.

Josh Heald (Hot Tub Time Machine) wrote this new story for Cobra Kai with Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold & Kumar). All three will executive produce the series with Susan Ekins, Will Smith, James Lassiter, and Caleeb Pinkett.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Commentary: Part of me wants to be cynical and yell, "STOP RUINING MY CHILDHOOD!" but I have to admit, after watching this trailer, I really want to see this. KARATE KID was one of my favorite movies growing up. It's had some awesome sequels and reboots, but I can't help but want to know "What would Daniel and Johnny's rivalry look like 30 years later as adults?" I am not quite sure what YouTube Red is..are there people really willing to pay for content on YouTube? But if this series lives up to the trailer, it certainly might be worth finding out...