Ralph Macchio Addresses The Likelihood Of Jaden Smith And Jackie Chan Joining Cobra Kai
The 1984 film "The Karate Kid" was a major hit upon its release, leading to three sequels before a reboot came along in 2010. However, the original franchise came back to life when the now-defunct streaming service YouTube Red (rebranded as YouTube Premium) resurrected the franchise with "Cobra Kai" in 2018. The series was so successful that it outgrew YouTube's flailing premium subscription and shifted over to Netflix ahead of its third season.
"Cobra Kai" was developed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who previously co-wrote "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle," alongside Josh Heald, who co-wrote "Hot Tub Time Machine." With passionate fans behind the show's creation, the series brought back a number of familiar faces from the films, including Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, who reprised their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, respectively.
Over the course of the show's run, there have been a slew of new characters expanding the "Karate Kid" universe, such as Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, and Tanner Buchanan. But other characters from the previous films have also returned, such as Martin Kove as John Kreese and Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver.
But what about "The Karate Kid" reboot? Will stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan ever make their way into "Cobra Kai" for an appearance? Ralph Macchio has chimed in.
Macchio said the characters wouldn't fit into Cobra Kai
In an interview with Jake's Takes (via YouTube), Ralph Macchio was asked about the possibility of bringing in Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan into "Cobra Kai" and how they might mesh with the existing character on the show.
Macchio responded by noting that the show's creators, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, refer to the show's universe as the "Miyagi-verse." He elaborated that any characters who interacted with Pat Morita's film character Mr. Miyagi are all fair game for the show. However, as the character did not appear in the 2010 film, which didn't seem to take place in the "Miyagi-verse," it seems to rule out any characters from the 2010 reboot appearing on "Cobra Kai."
However, Macchio worded his response very carefully, saying that the characters of Dre Parker and Mr. Han, played by Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan respectively, would not be able to appear on the show. This does suggest, however, that there's a possibility that Chan or Smith could appear on the show by playing entirely new characters. This would allow the show to nod to the reboot without breaking the logistics of the universe.
The potential appearance of another major character was teased
While closing the door on the appearance of two characters, Ralph Macchio opened the possibility of a third character from the films appearing on the show.
Macchio concluded his answer by saying that "the flip side of that is that someone like Julie Pierce, who was Hilary Swank's role, did know Miyagi," referring to the 1994 film "The Next Karate Kid," the last installment in the film series prior to the 2010 reboot.
This is not the first time the potential appearance of Julie Pierce has been teased by people involved in the show. In an April 2022 Deadline Contenders TV panel, Hayden Schlossberg said that Swank's character is "one of the toys in the toy chest" with regards to a possible appearance on "Cobra Kai."
Swank, who previously worked with Netflix in the 2020 science fiction series "Away," has also spoken about the show, mentioning that she's frequently asked about whether she'll appear in the TV series continuation. While she hasn't committed to the hypothetical idea, she also has not ruled out the possibility. We'll have to wait and see what happens.