Cobra Kai showrunner Jon Hurwitz has teased that the final season could allow for three twists that would have a huge impact on the Miyagi-verse.
Little is known about the Cobra Kai season 6 story, but a recent tweet from co-creator Jon Hurwitz suggests that some very specific developments could unfold in the show’s final season. While the show exists as its own property, it’s built on the shoulders of the Karate Kid franchise, existing within the same universe and continuing the story from the original movies. The Cobra Kai season 6 cast is already set to be bursting at the seams with new and old faces to bid the spinoff show farewell, and Hurwitz’s comments could mean the introduction of even more key figures.
Almost every member of The Karate Kid (1984) cast has benefited due to the resurgence of the universe in Cobra Kai. However, it’s not just actors from the first movie to reprise their roles in the Netflix show. Characters from the second and third Karate Kid movies have also returned, despite both sequels not quite living up to the hype of the franchise’s first installment. However, posting to X (formerly known as Twitter), Hurwitz claims that Cobra Kai season 6, “Expands the Karate Kid/Cobra Kai universe more than the first 5 seasons combined.”
Prediction 1: Cobra Kai Season 6 Will Feature Hilary Swank As Julie Pierce
Swank replaced Ralph Macchio as Mr. Miyagi’s student in the 1994 sequel
The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai timeline took a huge break between both properties. Initially, 1994’s The Next Karate Kid was the fourth and final installment in the franchise, with the movie performing very poorly. The film was the first Karate Kid movie to not feature Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso. Instead, Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce became the student of Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi. At present, Swank is the only key Karate Kid figure who can make a debut appearance in Cobra Kai. As such, Hurwitz’s comments suggest her return is inevitable.
Cobra Kai seasons 1-5 have essentially exhausted their supply of characters from the Miyagi-verse that could contribute to an impact as big as teased by Hurwitz’s post. Although there are technically still a few others, they aren’t nearly as high-profile as Hilary Swank, and they wouldn’t make a splash anywhere near the magnitude being implied by Jon Hurwitz. So, Julie Pierce entering the fray as part of a larger effort seems like the most reasonable solution to Hurwitz’s intentionally vaguely worded teaser.
Prediction 2: Cobra Kai Season 6 Will Tie Into The 2010 Remake
Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith led The Karate Kid’s reimagining
After 1994’s The Next Karate Kid, the franchise lay dormant until the 2010 remake of 1984’s The Karate Kid. The 2010 version of the movie was more than just retreading the same ground. While the story hit all the same beats, the setting and characters underwent a drastic overhaul. All the character names were changed, and even the martial art being taught was different. As a result, Jackie Chan’s 2010 Karate Kid remake being in the same universe as the original isn’t that weird, and wouldn’t create any major canon clashes.
Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han would be an obvious candidate for an appearance in Cobra Kai season 6. Chan’s The Karate Kid co-star, Jaden Smith, could also reprise his role as Dre Parker in Cobra Kai ‘s final season.
Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han would be an obvious candidate for an appearance in Cobra Kai season 6. Chan’s The Karate Kid co-star, Jaden Smith, could also reprise his role as Dre Parker in Cobra Kai’s final season. One possibility is the presence of both characters at the Sekai Taikai – a huge karate tournament that is set to be a focal point of Cobra Kai season 6. Paired with a Hilary Swank appearance, the return of Chan and Smith could go some way to justifying the hype being generated by Jon Hurwitz’s post.
Prediction 3: Cobra Kai Season 6 Will Set Up Karate Kid’s Next Movie
The next Karate Kid movie is scheduled for release in December 2024
Bringing 2010’s Karate Kid remake into the fold means that it’s been 14 years since the release of a movie within the franchise. However, the next cinematic installment, which will be released on December 13, 2024, has a lot of ground to cover. Cobra Kai has added a great deal of new lore to the Karate Kid universe. As such, while the new movie will have much more canon to play with, it also has to make the film act as a sequel to the spinoff series.
To aid in this, Cobra Kai needs to include a story that bleeds into the new movie while also serving as a satisfying conclusion to the show. While this may be a difficult balance to find, creating this narrative path by using Hilary Swank and the Karate Kid remake characters would surely meet the level of excitement that Jon Hurwitz is suggesting. However, only the release of Cobra Kai season 6 later this year will confirm or deny these predictions.
