“The Karate Kid” legacy sequel series “Cobra Kai” is coming to an end, but the franchise could live on in some form.
In September last year came the announcement of a new and presently untitled installment in “The Karate Kid” film series. Very quickly it was established this was not a sequel to the Jaden Smith-led 2010 reboot, nor did it involve any of the “Cobra Kai” team – including original star Ralph Macchio.
Then two weeks ago came the news that “Cobra Kai” will end with its upcoming sixth season. In a written statement, show creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg said: “This fandom is the BEST on the planet, and we hope to be telling more ‘Karate Kid’ stories with you down the line. Because as we all know, Cobra Kai Never Dies”.
Speaking with Deadline this week about her company’s various upcoming projects, Sony Pictures Television Studios President Katherine Pope touched briefly upon the franchise’s future.
The trade pointed out how various Sony Television-produced series like “The Blacklist,” “The Boys” and “The Good Doctor” have all scored or are developing spin-offs of some sort.
Not “Cobra Kai’ though. So, is the upcoming film the only plans for the franchise or could there be some “Cobra Kai” spin-offs on the way? Pope suggests its possible:
“They have some ideas in terms of expanding Cobra Kai and coming at the Karate Kid legacy in different ways. But yes, the movie is a good example too. It’s all of these.
I think we’ve all learned these worlds can exist together and they can feel cohesive and they can feel additive, especially for the fans, and feel like big, big worlds that exist on lots of different levels, they don’t necessarily all exist in the same plane.
Audiences are so savvy now and accepting multiple levels of the IP so the Cobra Kai universe lives on, that’s for sure.”
That would suggest they’re certainly not shutting the door on potential spin-offs. Almost all the major living cast members from the original trilogy have returned in some capacity in “Cobra Kai” aside from one key player – “The Next Karate Kid” star Hilary Swank.
Swank has previously spoken about how she hasn’t been asked to be in the series even though it’s one of the things she gets asked about the most by fans.
All five seasons of “Cobra Kai” released thus far are available to stream on Netflix, and the untitled “Karate Kid” film opens in cinemas on June 7th 2024.
