A Cobra Kai star has presented a unique sequel idea for the franchise, which already seems to sound way better than the upcoming The Karate Kid movie.
With Cobra Kai coming to an end, a new Karate Kid movie is on the horizon — but a Cobra Kai actor seems to have a better suggestion for how the franchise should continue. After resolving all underlying rivalries and bad blood in season 5, Cobra Kai is heading towards its end game in season 6. While most plot details surrounding the show’s final season 6 arc are still shrouded in mystery, one can speculate how the series will move forward and possibly branch out into other installments after its conclusion.
A new Karate Kid movie is also set to release in 2024, expanding Miyagi-verse in a refreshing direction. However, as exciting as this upcoming project may seem, there are many other expansion avenues the franchise can explore before settling for another Karate Kid movie. For instance, Cobra Kai star, Xolo Maridueña, has an interesting suggestion for how the Cobra Kai franchise can continue after its season 6 conclusion.
Cobra Kai V2 Sounds Way Better Than Karate Kid’s Upcoming Movie
Xolo Maridueña, who plays Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai, recently opened up about how he feels about the series coming to an end with season 6. He said that since he grew up with his Cobra Kai cast members, departing from the show is bittersweet. However, he also hopefully added that he wishes to reunite with the show’s team a few years down the lane for Cobra Kai V2. Given how Cobra Kai successfully revived the Karate Kid franchise after The Next Karate Kid had nearly killed it, it would make sense for the franchise to take a gap after Cobra Kai’s conclusion and then bring back its characters for a Volume 2 after a decade or two.
Sony already has plans to release a new Karate Kid movie in 2024. While most details surrounding its characters, cast members, and storylines are still under the covers, it is being touted as a “return to the original Karate Kid franchise.” With the new movie, Sony might bring some exciting developments to Cobra Kai and Karate Kid’s Miyagi-verse. However, given how previous attempts to recreate the original Karate Kid franchise have been futile, the Sony movie will possibly meet the same fate as all the films that were released after Karate Kid II. Owing to this, Maridueña’s idea for the franchise’s continuation sounds way better.
Why Karate Kid’s New Movie Makes No Sense
According to reports, the new Karate Kid movie will have no connections with Netflix’s Cobra Kai series. Ralph Macchio has also confirmed that he has not yet been approached to be a part of the film, suggesting that the new movie intends to introduce a whole new roster of senseis and karate students. Although these details do not give a well-rounded picture of the movie, they hint that it could be a reboot like The Next Karate Kid. At this point, when a series like Cobra Kai has already set high expectations for audiences with its soft reboot approach, it makes no sense for another Karate Kid reboot to exist in the Miyagi-verse.
As a new addition to the franchise, the new Karate Kid movie had the perfect opportunity to draw several connections to the original Karate Kid movies and the Cobra Kai series to retain the viewer base of both installments. However, by treading its own reboot path that seemingly has no connections with any other installments, the new Karate Kid movie is taking a massive risk by not effectively leveraging the momentum that Cobra Kai has built for the franchise in the past few years. Since it promises to “return to the original Karate Kid franchise,” it could also risk diminishing the profound lessons, themes, and action scenes of the original franchise by repeating them all over again.
Cobra Kai Doesn’t Need To Wait 30 Years For New Spinoffs
Unlike the original Karate Kid movies that gradually declined in quality with each new sequel, Cobra Kai has grown from strength to strength with each season. Owing to this, the Netflix series would benefit from branching out into spin-offs in the near future instead of waiting for 30 years like the Karate Kid movies. Even though Karate Kid III was heavily criticized for exaggerating the action and drama presented by its predecessors, Cobra Kai made up for its flaws and, in some ways, even retconned it by spinning its characters into new creative yarn. This proves that more than a Karate Kid reboot, a Cobra Kai spin-off makes more sense.
Since Cobra Kai has a massive roster of characters with unrealized plot directions, the show’s final season will also likely leave enough room for spin-offs. For instance, Anthony LaRusso is still a newbie in karate, and Kenny is also in his initial years of learning the martial art. A potential spin-off could walk through their journeys in the world of karate and how they navigate high school while honing their skills. A spin-off prequel for Cobra Kai and Karate Kid could also harken back to Mr. Miyagi’s karate origin story, which would be far more interesting than an unnecessary reboot.
