He’s no longer a Karate Kid, but Ralph Macchio at 55 can still master the crane kick. That’s the hope for a YouTube Red series called “Cobra Kai.”
Thirty-three years after the underdog martial arts movie, Macchio will reprise the role of Daniel LaRusso, and William Zabka is again rival Johnny Lawrence.
But Mr. Miyagi is no more. The wise old karate master played by Pat Morita died in 2005.
“The series, set to bow in 2018, is set 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament and revolves around a down-and-out Johnny who, seeking redemption, reopens the infamous Cobra Kai dojo,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“It reignites his rivalry with a now-successful Daniel, who has been struggling to maintain balance in his life without the guidance of his mentor, Mr. Miyagi …. The half-hour comedy follows the duo addressing demons from their past and present frustrations — through (what else?) karate.”
Why change the iconic name?
YouTube exec Susanne Daniels was quoted as saying: “If ‘The Karate Kid’ was Daniel’s story, ‘Cobra Kai’ is equal parts Daniel and Johnny’s story. Also because this is a series and not a movie, we really wanted to reimagine how the story was told. Changing the name made sense as part of that.”
THR said Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and AMC also bid “Cobra Kai” after “Macchio and Zabka pitched the series all over town.”