Cobra Kai Movies On The Way?
William Zabka of Cobra Kai has revealed the plans for a trilogy of films to follow the show.
As fans get ready for the fifth season of Cobra Kai, there is some speculation on whether the franchise could return to the big screen. The series originally debuted on YouTube as a continuation of The Karate Kid. With the show’s growing popularity, there’s reason to suggest that a Cobra Kai movie could be on its way. According to series star William Zabka, there are at least some tentative plans to bring Cobra Kai to the big screen. Speaking with ComicBook.com, Zabka confirmed that there had been discussions regarding the show’s endgame, and he mentioned the possibility of fans experiencing a trilogy of movies.
“Yeah, there’s no endgame at all, we’ll keep this thing for another ten seasons. [Laughs] There’s an endgame. Everything’s pointing to a place on the map for sure. It’s a matter of how many we’re gonna get to do that, but there’s definitely an endgame. We’re gonna end the series, and then I think we’re gonna do a trilogy of films.“
A Cobra Kai movie could be in the vein of what the executives at AMC wanted to do with the Walking Dead franchise. For those unaware, AMC announced a Walking Dead movie centered on the series’ main hero, Rick Grimes, played by actor Andrew Lincoln. The film would’ve premiered after the final season of the Walking Dead, which is currently set to release its last eight episodes this October. However, AMC instead announced at Comic-Con this year that Rick Grimes will return in a future spinoff television series along with fan-favorite character Michonne, played by actress Danai Gurira. Although there is no way of knowing how many seasons Cobra Kai has left, the endgame can’t be too far away. Even Ralph Macchio himself teased some early plans to explore more of the world beyond the series. He stated the possibility of an origin story centered on Mr. Miyagi.
Whatever happens next with Cobra Kai, it’ll be sure to get fans talking. The martial-arts comedy has received high praise from fans and critics since launching on YouTube Red on May 2, 2018. The first episode was viewed 5.4 million times within the first 24 hours of release. After the series moved over to Netflix in August 2020, the first two seasons became the most-watched on the platform. Cobra Kai leans heavily on the strength of the original Karate Kid franchise, which starred Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso. The series followed Daniel’s journey of overcoming his fear of being bullied through martial arts training. The original Karate Kid was one of the highest-grossing films in 1984 and is considered an ’80s classic. It was also Macchio’s second major film role after appearing in The Outsiders.
The fifth season of Cobra Kai seems to pick up right after the events of the fourth season. Reviews so far have been stellar, with critics claiming it has some of the most exciting fight scenes in the series thus far. According to Collider‘s Nate Richard, the series seems to know how ridiculous it can be and uses that to its advantage. He also mentioned the series might be building up to a sixth season, which could hint that the creators have more stories to tell with these characters beyond the rumored spinoffs. Whether or not Cobra Kai could find its way to theaters across the globe remains to be seen. Nostalgia is still huge right now, especially after the success of Netflix’s Stranger Things season 4. For Cobra Kai to generate massive cash at the box office, it may have to tap into what people cherished most about the Karate Kid series.
