The final season of Karate Kid sequel series Cobra Kai has been split into three batches of five episodes. Here’s a trailer for the first one, out this month:
When Cobra Kai premiered on YouTube Red back in 2018, few would have guessed quite how popular the show would become. What began as an affectionate, ‘by the fans for the fans’ legacy show grew into a behemoth that has become one of the biggest shows on Netflix.
What makes Cobra Kai so successful is that creators and writers Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg give Ralph Macchio and William Zabka – reprising their roles of Daniel and Johnny – real character development and story arcs. All while mixing returning legacy characters like John Kreese and Terry Silver with the young cast of karate rivals.
The likes of Yuji Okumoto, Elisabeth Shue, Sean Kanan, Robyn Lively and Tamlyn Tomita have returned across the five series so far. It has not been confirmed if The Next Karate Kid’s Julie Pierce, played by Hilary Swank, will make an appearance.
The returning cast also includes Xolo Maridueña, Courtney Henggeler, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, Jacob Bertrand, Peyton List, Vanessa Rubio, Dallas Dupree Young, Alicia Hannah-Kim, Griffin Santopietro, Oona O’Brien and Gianni DeCenzo.
The synopsis for the sixth series reads as follows:
With Cobra Kai eliminated from the Valley, our senseis and students must decide if and how they will compete in the Sekai Taikai — the world championships of karate.
The main change is that the final season will comprise of 15 episodes, which will be split into batches of five and dropped on Netflix over the next year. The first five episodes will premiere on Netflix on the 18th July, with the second dropping in November and the third in 2025. This is due to filming being severely delayed by last year’s SAG-AFTRA strikes.
In other news, the new Karate Kid film will see Macchio share the screen with Jackie Chan, who starred in the 2010 remake, for the first time. Jonathan Entwistle is directing from a screenplay by Rob Lieber. Ben Wang will star at the title character. It was recently confirmed that the release date has shifted to 2025 to avoid competing with Cobra Kai.
The first five episodes of the sixth series of Cobria Kai will be released on Netflix on the 18th July. Watch the trailer below: