Cobra Kai season 6 will set up new directions for the Karate Kid franchise to take, but this might mean that poor Johnny Lawrence will be neglected.
The creators of Cobra Kai have given an exciting update about season 6, but it could be bad news for the conclusion of Johnny Lawrence’s story. The Karate Kid spinoff has centered around the old teenage villain, but in the show’s five seasons, several other characters from the movie franchise have also been explored. Going into Cobra Kai’s sixth and final season, it can be assumed that the story will circle back around to bring Johnny some resolution—but that may be difficult if season 6 focuses too much on expanding the Karate Kid universe.
Cobra Kai got its start back in 2018, and the story is finally being wrapped up with season 6 in 2024. The Netflix series has managed to capture all the charm and excitement of the Karate Kid movies while shifting the perspective of the trilogy’s central villains. In all, Cobra Kai was a massive hit and has proven that there is a lot of room to expand the franchise. There are already plans for a new Karate Kid movie starring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, and given the updates about Cobra Kai season 6, more spinoffs are sure to follow.
Cobra Kai Season 6 Will Expand The Miyagiverse With More World-Building
It looks like Cobra Kai season 6 will be all about setting up new spinoffs.
Cobra Kai creator Jon Hurwitz recently took to Twitter to tease that season 6 would expand the “Miyagiverse” through extensive world-building, noting that the show’s final installment “expands the Karate Kid/Cobra Kai universe more than the first 5 seasons combined.” This is certainly exciting news since it means that, even though Cobra Kai is ending, the franchise itself is just getting started. If there wasn’t a plan for more spinoffs, then there would be no need to add significant world-building in the show’s final season.
With Macchio and Chan’s Karate Kid movie expected in 2024 as well, it’s likely that Cobra Kai season 6 will lay the groundwork for their characters to meet. Of course, this surely isn’t all that Hurwitz was talking about when he teased extensive world-building. In this next installment of the Netflix series, it can be assumed that the Sekai Taikai will explore all the different ways that the Miyagi-verse can expand beyond Daniel and Johnny. However, as exciting as this is, it could be bad news for the central story of Cobra Kai.
Cobra Kai’s Final Season Can’t Forget About Johnny Lawrence
If Cobra Kai season 6 is all about setting up a new spinoff, Johnny’s story could wind up neglected. The Netflix series was far more focused on this character in season 1, and each subsequent season seemed to pull further away from his and Miguel’s journey together. It has been hoped that season 6 would come back to its roots, placing Johnny back at center stage so that his tale could be given a satisfying ending. However, if this final installment of Cobra Kai is about setting up another Daniel LaRusso spinoff, this may not happen.
Johnny’s story being forced to share the stage with world-building would be incredibly ironic since his character arc is all about being considered second best to Daniel. For this reason, it’s a little disappointing that the ending of Cobra Kai might not be as focused on Johnny as it should be. Ultimately, the creative minds behind the Karate Kid franchise mustn’t get so caught up in expanding the world and creating more opportunities to make money that they forget who Cobra Kai’s main character really is.
