As the Cobra Kai series finale draws nearer, the stars of the show have teased that fans can expect a satisfying ending from the series. Five final episodes of the sixth season will be released on Netflix early next year.
William Zabka, who portrayed Johnny Lawrence in The Karate Kid and reprised his role for Cobra Kai, spoke with Variety about the beloved series coming to an end. “[This is] the right time to end it and the right way to end it. [The producers] stick the landing in a way that’s unexpected, uplifting, and honest…It’s a great ending for everybody, and we’re so thankful we had six seasons to get to tell the whole story.” Cobra Kai originally launched on YouTube Red / YouTube Premium in 2019, with Netflix later acquiring The Karate Kid spin-off series and renewing it for future seasons.
Zabka’s co-star, Ralph Macchio, who also reprised his role of Daniel LaRusso, agreed with Zabka about Cobra Kai offering an exciting finale. “You need to hit the bottom to come back up, and that’s kind of where we are,” he said. “I’m very excited. It is set up to embrace that big ’80s movie ending that I have a feeling we will find and go forward. It feels right to land the plane, Cobra Kai proper… [and that] this chapter is ending.”
Netflix kicked off the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai with a batch of five episodes released on July 18. The second part of the three-part finale arrived on the streaming platform on Nov. 15, and the tenth episode ended with one of Cobra Kai’s most shocking moments when one of the young karate masters unexpectedly died in the middle of a global tournament. When Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3 arrives on Feb. 13, 2025, it will explore how the characters react to the tragic death as the series takes its final bow.
The Karate Kid Stars Reflect on Their Journey in Cobra Kai
With the end in sight for Cobra Kai, both Zabka and Macchio took time to reflect on what it was like continuing to play characters from their youth decades later. “As an actor, to get to play a character so three-dimensional and heartfelt and funny and all those things, that’s what you sign up for when you do this,” Zabka said. “You want to make an impact on somebody. The fact that it’s tied into Karate Kid and has all these great themes and the fan base and all that just makes it surreal.”
After Cobra Kai ends, Macchio will continue to portray Daniel LaRusso in next year’s Karate Kid: Legends film alongside Jackie Chan. “I’ve walked the streets in these shoes for 40 plus years,” Macchio said. “And so I always talk about honesty and truth in the character, and that’s always what I’m looking for. I just want to know where the character landed. I’ll jump through the hoops and wear the face paint and jump off the cliff and punch Johnny in the face. If it services his narrative, it’s cool. But where does it land? And that’s where the comfort was because we were always working toward the same goal. And that’s because [the producers] care. They care so much about these original films and these characters. And that’s why we have the richness in our performances and in the storytelling.”
They care so much about these original films and these characters.
