Cobra Kai season 6 may officially mark the end of 1 narrative arc for the series, but for several reasons, it certainly cannot be the franchise’s end.
Johnny and Kreese were right on the money when they said “Cobra Kai never dies” because season 6 will likely not mark the end of the franchise. It has been officially confirmed that season 6 will be the final installment of Netflix’s Cobra Kai, bringing closure to all the loose narrative threads that season 5 left behind. However, despite the confirmation, it seems like the Cobra Kai franchise may be far from over.
After resolving nearly all rivalries in its closing episodes and bringing justice to Terry Silver, Cobra Kai season 5 ended with a climactic twist where Kreese escaped prison. The introduction of the Sekai Taitkai International tournament in season 5 also established that the Netflix series still had a few more stories to tell. Since season 5 only left a few unresolved story elements for season 6 to explore, it makes sense for Netflix’s Cobra Kai to end with season 6. However, when it comes to the overarching storyline of the franchise, Cobra Kai may not die just yet.
Cobra Kai Season 6 Is Unlikely To Be The End Of The Story
Cobra Kai Will Likely Return With Spin-Offs After Season 6
Although it has been officially confirmed Cobra Kai season 6 will be the Netflix series’ last, it seems unlikely it will end the franchise’s overarching narrative. Unlike the Karate Kid movies, which diminished in quality with each new installment and failed to end on a high note, Cobra Kai has consistently earned critical acclaim and commercial returns. Given how it continues to be financially viable and immensely popular, Netflix or other streaming platforms and networks would consider extending its run with either sequels or spin-offs. The main series might go on a hiatus for a while, but since “Cobra Kai never dies,” it won’t be long before it will be picked up for continuation.
Which Cobra Kai Characters Could Hold A Spinoff?
Many Cobra Kai Character Beats Deserve To Be Expanded Into Spin-offs
Cobra Kai season 5 ends all rivalries, but a few loose narrative threads still have the potential to become full-fledged television shows. For instance, Anthony LaRusso and Kenny Payne have not officially buried their beef like Miguel and Robby. Since Anthony, too, showed some promising karate skills in season 5, he and Kenny could become the franchise’s next Daniel and Johnny before they understand the consequences of taking their high school bad blood too seriously. A Cobra Kai spin-off could also serve as a prequel, walking viewers through Mr. Miyagi’s karate journey in Okinawa.
Since viewers are only used to seeing the wise and experienced Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid movies, it would be interesting to see how he, too, started as a reckless, ill-tempered teenager like Daniel LaRusso but gradually learned to strengthen the roots of his bonsai tree through karate. A spin-off focusing on Mr. Miyagi’s origin story would also provide the franchise with an opportunity to divert its focus to new settings and timelines, allowing it to rise above the storytelling conventions set by Karate Kid. Since Cobra Kai has already reinvented the Karate Kid formula in every possible way, it would be refreshing to see a spin-off that does not involve typical All-Valley tournaments and high school rivalries.
A new Cobra Kai spin-off could also center on Chozen. From being one of the biggest antagonists from the original Karate Kid movies, Chozen has become one of the most likable characters in the franchise after his Cobra Kai arc. The Netflix series has also sown the seeds of potential romantic developments in his storyline by hinting at how he was close friends with Kumiko after Karate Kid II. Chosen’s backstory also reveals that he learned Kim Sun-Yung’s Tang Soo Do at some point and honed his Miyagi Do skills by training under his Uncle Sato after losing against Daniel in Karate Kid II. All these underlying narrative threads could be expanded by a spin-off that focuses on Chozen.
The Karate Kid Could Have Two Active Franchises (If Cobra Kai Continues)
A new Karate Kid reboot movie is already in the works. According to reports, the film has nothing to do with Cobra Kai, and none of the characters from the Netflix series will appear in its storyline. If the Sony movie proves to be a profitable endeavor, it will likely expand into a full-blown movie franchise. Similarly, if Cobra Kai continues with potential spin-off shows, the franchise could parallelly exist alongside the new movie franchise. Hypothetically, if both franchises continue performing well and share similar timelines, their characters could even crossover, offering audiences an exciting convergence of two distinct movie and television universes. However, for now, only time will tell how the Cobra Kai and Karate Kid franchises will further expand the Mi
