The new year also brought a brand new season of Cobra Kai, on the show’s new home, Netflix, though it has also brought a new set of questions.
Netflix had renewed Cobra Kai for a fourth season back in October, though fans have wondered if it will be the show’s last.
Series creators/showrunners Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg spoke with TV Line on Sunday, where they revealed Season 4 will not be its last, though they have an ‘endgame’ they’re working on.
Questions: The new year also brought a brand new season of Cobra Kai, on the show’s new home, Netflix, though it has also brought a new set of questions
Showrunners: Series creators/showrunners Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (left) spoke with TV Line on Sunday, where they revealed Season 4 will not be its last, though they have an ‘endgame’ they’re working on
‘We have an endgame in our heads. We’ve had one for quite some time, and it’s not in Season 4. It’s well beyond that,’ Heald said.
He added that they have multiple seasons ‘worth of story that is necessary to tell before we get to that endgame,’ though he also understood it’s not all up to them.
‘That will be a discussion going forward with our new partners at Netflix. Can we write to that endgame? Can we know that it’s coming? That’s not always the case with television and we respect that,’ he said.
Josh: ‘We have an endgame in our heads. We’ve had one for quite some time, and it’s not in Season 4. It’s well beyond that,’ Heald (above) said.
‘For now, we’re continuing to write at the same speed and with the same path that we set out with from the beginning,’ Heald added.
While the show started with Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) renewing their rivalry, the Season 3 finale brought them together as allies.
‘Giving them this moment was something we’ve always known was coming. We always felt like this was the time for it to happen, but we are doing it in a way where we’ve also established who these characters are,’ Heald added.
Rivals: While the show started with Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) renewing their rivalry, the Season 3 finale brought them together as allies
‘They’re both very strong minded in their own philosophies, ideals and pasts. There does appear to be a very distinct battle ahead, a very clear boundary and set of circumstances that have brought them to this moment, but time will tell if history repeats itself and they fall back into old habits again, or if they’re going to be able to weather the storm and lean into each other to do the hard work of what it is to form a partnership,’ he added.
Fans also learned much more about Cobra Kai founder John Kreese (Martin Kove) with a flashback to his Vietnam days, offering insight into why he opened Cobra Kai.
‘Dealing with the situations he dealt with over there, and having that experience of showing mercy and seeing that the world doesn’t necessarily reward good behavior… it had a profound impact on him. It was a traumatizing experience that he carries with him to this day,’ said Hurwitz.
Kreese: Fans also learned much more about Cobra Kai founder John Kreese (Martin Kove) with a flashback to his Vietnam days, offering insight into why he opened Cobra Kai
‘We’ve always asked, “Why would John Kreese start a karate dojo?” From the beginning it was because he believes he has something to offer young people, life lessons he thinks are important for these kids to know, to defend themselves in life,’ he added.
The finale also teased the return of another character from the Karate Kid canon, Kreese’s army friend Terry Silver, played by Thomas Ian Griffith in The Karate Kid Part 3.
While Hurwitz wouldn’t confirm that Griffith will return as Silver, he added, ‘We try to bring back the original actor who played characters in the past as much as possible. We all loved the character of Terry Silver in The Karate Kid 3 and his portrayal by Thomas Ian Griffith, so if that character was to return for Season 4, we’d hope that he’d be the one playing him.’
Hurwitz: ‘We’ve always asked, “Why would John Kreese start a karate dojo?” From the beginning it was because he believes he has something to offer young people, life lessons he thinks are important for these kids to know, to defend themselves in life,’ he added
Original: While Hurwitz wouldn’t confirm that Griffith will return as Silver, he added, ‘We try to bring back the original actor who played characters in the past as much as possible. We all loved the character of Terry Silver in The Karate Kid 3 and his portrayal by Thomas Ian Griffith, so if that character was to return for Season 4, we’d hope that he’d be the one playing him’