Why Hilary Swank's Julie Pierce Never Appeared In Cobra Kai

The Netflix mega-hit series "Cobra Kai" wrapped up in February with a big tournament win for Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), who turned his "The Karate Kid" rival Daniel LaRusso into a friend and co-sensei over the series' six seasons. They were two of five characters to appear in all 65 episodes of "Cobra Kai," and tried to impart the lessons they learned as youngsters to their own karate students. Throughout the series, Daniel and Johnny were joined by a steady stream of familiar faces from the four canonical "Karate Kid" movies, including in an important Season 6, Part 3 scene that used computer graphics and AI-generated audio to bring back Daniel's sensei Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita).

One actor from the franchise that didn't make it to "Cobra Kai" was Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, who had her breakout performance in 1994's "The Next Karate Kid." That was the first of the four films Macchio didn't star in, perhaps because at 28, he had aged out of the role of Daniel. Swank played Julie Pearce, a young fighter who Mr. Miyagi trains in much the same way he did Daniel.

Creator Jon Hurwitz has acknowledged that "The Next Karate Kid" and Julie are part of franchise canon, but admits that showrunners couldn't even reach Swank to ask if she would like to appear on "Cobra Kai." During a Q&A session on X, creator Jon Hurwitz said he and his team tried to get Swank involved, but she didn't seem interested. "We spoke with her reps several times," he wrote, "But never actually had the opportunity to speak directly with her. At the end of the day, she wasn't interested in engaging at this time. We respect her wishes and remain huge fans."

Jon Hurwitz left the door open for Hilary Swank to return to what he called "The Miyagiverse," and one of Swank's two Best Actress Oscars was for "Million Dollar Baby," so she hasn't left the world of fictional combat behind completely. This is purely a suspicion of ours, not based on any public or private comment, but it's possible that the reaction of some so-called "fans" of the franchise to "The Next Karate Kid" having been a girl put her off the franchise for good. If that happens to be the case, perhaps a more evolved "Cobra Kai" fandom can help bring her back. But even without Swank, "Cobra Kai" was full of familiar faces from the titular dojo and beyond.  Aside from Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, fans were rewarded with returns from Johnny's old sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove), Cobra Kai co-founder Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), his protege Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan), and henchman Dennis De Guzman (William Christopher Ford). 

The second film's villain, Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto), was also back for "Cobra Kai," as was Daniel's love interest from that film, Kumiko Tanaka (Tamlyn Tomita). "Cobra Kai" fans clamored from the show's start for the return of Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue), over whom Daniel and Johnny fight often in the first film. After her re-appearance was teased in the Season 2 finale, Ali came back for two episodes in Season 3. Johnny's old buddies Bobby (Ron Thomas), Tommy (Rob Garrison), and Jimmy (Tony O'Dell) returned in "Cobra Kai" Season 2 to have one last party with Tommy, who was terminally ill. Garrison died just a few months later from kidney and liver issues, and Thomas was the only of that trio to return for Season 3. Daniel's mother, Lucille (Randee Heller), also made four brief appearances. 

"Karate Kid: Legends," the film following the events of "Cobra Kai," will also not feature Hilary Swank.