Cobra Kai Creators Discuss Raising The Stakes For Season 6

When "Cobra Kai" came to fruition back in 2018, it's fair to say that much of the thrust it received stemmed from nostalgia. People love the "Karate Kid" films and the many characters they introduced to pop culture, and that's likely what the minds behind "Cobra Kai" had in mind when they put it together. However, you can only get so far on nostalgia alone. The series had to deliver narratively and stand on its own two feet if it had any hope of surviving. Not only has it managed to succeed on both of these fronts, but it's now well on the way to becoming a television classic.

Season after season, "Cobra Kai" has offered fans healthy doses of action, comedy, drama, and callbacks to the "Karate Kid" movies. At the same time, it has managed to escalate the stakes exponentially to keep things from growing stale. The Cobra Kai dojo returned, the villainous John Kreese (Martin Kove) stepped out of the shadows to take it over, and his former ally Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) overthrew him and took it for his own. Thus, by the time Season 5 rolled around, the likes of Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso) had an entire Cobra Kai empire to contend with.

By the end of Season 5, one has to wonder if "Cobra Kai" will lose steam heading into Season 6. The minds behind it all, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, don't have any worries in that regard. Here's why.

With the Cobra Kai dojo toppled, Terry Silver behind bars, and a sense of relative peace in the valley, it sounds like "Cobra Kai" Season 6 could be a somber one. However, according to Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, there's still some conflict yet to unfold (via Variety). "If you're the best around in karate, what are you going to do? Maybe there's something beyond just your local area," Schlossberg explained, comparing "Cobra Kai" to the "Rocky" series of films in the sense that now that we've seen these new martial arts standouts conquer their region, perhaps it's time they explore international challenges.

Aside from the Sekai Taikai — a massive tournament where the best of the best compete to see who the real karate prodigies are — there's another source of conflict for "Cobra Kai" Season 6 to feature: John Kreese. Upon faking his death, the longtime Cobra Kai sensei escaped prison and is back on the streets with vengeance on his mind. "There's the ultimate Cobra Kai snake out there...We'll see if life goes on easy in Season 6, or if Kreese has something to say. Something tells me that it's going to be the latter," teased Schlossberg, indicating that Kreese's story is far from over.

Season 5 will be difficult to top, but if the folks behind "Cobra Kai" have proven anything, it's that they're more than capable of raising the stakes higher and higher. Season 6 could be the most intense season yet.