44/43
Avildsen shot hours of footage of the tournament from multiple angles
Narrative
Decades after their 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament match, a middle-aged Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence find themselves once again as martial arts rivals. During the filming of the original Karate Kid, the late director John G. The team behind Cobra Kai dug through the studio vault and found a ton of previously unseen footage, which they were able to incorporate into the series through flashbacks. One of them features Zabka’s real-life mother, who was in the stands in various angles that remained unseen until 2018. Ralph Macchio told Uproxx that there are three brand-new angles of the famous crane kick.
Many people believe Miyagi’s name
on his tombstone is a continuity error, given that in Karate Kid 4 (1994) his name is stated to be Keisuke, but it was actually previously shown on a sign being considered for him by the Chozen in Karate Kid 2 (1986) to be Nariyoshi. This means that The Next Karate Kid was the one who changed his name, while Cobra Kai kept the name previously given to him. Another interesting fact, however, is that the name given in The Karate Kid Part II was not his original given name. Miyagi. In Karate Kid (1984), it can be briefly seen on Miyagi’s tags, attached to the keys to the 1948 Ford given to Daniel for his birthday, that Miyagi’s first name is Hideo.
I can’t believe how much I love Cobra Kai
Featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Anthony Mackie/Ralph Macchio/Kiry Shabazz (2018). Initially, I thought this was going to be a weird kids’ show. It’s not, any fan of the original trilogy will love this. It takes place 34 years after the events of the first film and the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament. It follows a downfall of Johnny Lawrence (William Zavala) as he tries to turn his life around and opens the famous Cobra Kai dojo.
He’s absolutely the star here!
This reignites his rivalry with the successful Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). I can’t say enough about how good Zabka is here. It’s a shame he hasn’t become a bigger star over the years because he shows he can carry a show here. Again, if you’re a fan of the original trilogy, watch this. I promise you’ll love it!
Check out our November calendar for more!
We can’t wait for more seasons to come. A new season of "Silo" is one of the biggest TV and streaming premieres this month.