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The nineties was the heyday of the mid-level action hero. Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal churned out a whole series of increasingly profitable action programmers in the early part of the decade. Seagal’s movies were wildly profitable for Warner Bros, while Van Damme had a home at Universal Pictures. Every studio wanted its own Jcvd or Seagal, with Paramount trying to launch Jeff Speakman with The Perfect Weapon (which has a devoted fan in our own writer Ej Tangonan) and Fox even trying with football player Howie Long in Firestorm. One studio that badly wanted their own action guy was New Line Cinema, but before they found their niche in the genre with Rumble in the Bronx and Mortal Kombat, they tried to launch two promising action heroes. One was Thomas Ian Griffith, whose (pretty awesome) action flick Excessive Force was only given a small regional release.

The Story: A college kid (Brandon Lee) witnesses a gangland hit. Betrayed by witness protection, he’s recruited by a task force headed by a no-nonsense cop (Powers Boothe) as a pawn, but little do they know he’s more than able to handle himself against any of his foes.

The Players: Starring: Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe, Tzi Ma & Nick Mancuso. Directed by Dwight H. Little.

The History: The early nineties were the heyday of the martial arts movie star. Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme were consistently churning out hits, so if they could become icons, why not a guy like Brandon Lee? He was movie star handsome, could move, was charismatic and could act. Oh yeah – he also happened to be the son of the greatest Kung-Fu movie star of all time, Bruce Lee.

“I wouldn’t want to refer to them as stepping stones. That seems to demean them.

John Carpenter set off on a hot streak in the ‘70s and it ran all the way into the ‘90s. The majority of his output during that time period is iconic and universally beloved. During his decades-spanning hot streak, the celebrated filmmaker tackled the slasher genre, body horror, exploitation cinema, and more.

Despite a proven track record of noteworthy output, Carpenter’s films often failed to resonate with theatergoers. Case in point: Both The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China bombed at the box office. Yet, both went on to become cult classics on home video, suggesting that he is targeting a base less prone to turn out to theaters.

Carpenter’s struggles to consistently deliver results at the box office carried into the ‘90s when he released his screen adaptation of the John Steakley novel Vampires. The flick is a gritty take on the horror Western and a gruesome good time,...

Exclusive: Another year, another early renewal and another record for Netflix’s popular romantic drama Virgin River. Mere days after production wrapped on the upcoming seventh season of the series starring Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson, it has been renewed for Season 8, which will once again consist of 10 episodes.

With the pickup, Virgin River is believed to be Netflix’s longest-running live-action scripted series. It has surpassed comedy Grace and Frankie and comedy-drama Orange Is the New Black‘s seven-season runs and has edged Spanish teen drama Elite‘s eight seasons with 84 vs. 64 episodes across them.

It is not surprising that Virgin River, one of Netflix’s “blue sky”, “comfort” series, has eclipsed flashier, higher-profile...

"Cobra Kai" is the best thing to happen to the "Karate Kid" franchise since we first heard Joe Esposito's "You're the Best" in the 1984 original film. This is a legacy sequel done right, a TV show that understood what made the original films so successful and so beloved (even the nearly universally maligned "Karate Kid Part III"), while also carving its own path and identity. Indeed, the appeal of "Cobra Kai" is that it serves as a fantastic reversal of the original movie, with a new generation taking the place of the original characters, a new karate kid who learns to defend himself before having a brief turn to the dark side, and a struggling mentor who learns to embrace balance.

But it also served as the best possible scenario for a continuation of the original trilogy, catching up not only with Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel Larusso...

Perhaps the most glaring omission from Cobra Kai's cameos from Karate Kid legacy stars was Hilary Swank. Known for her role as Julie Pierce in The Next Karate Kid, Swank had been expected to make an appearance at some point in Cobra Kai, but the final season came and went without the cameo happening.

The creators of the series have since spoken out about the absence of Swank, per Entertainment Weekly. They confirmed that they had in fact been in contact with Swank with the goal of having her come in for the final season of Cobra Kai, but the talks apparently didn't get very far. The show creators lamented how they didn't get to give Swank the full pitch in person like they typically did for the other franchise stars, as she made it clear pretty early on that she just wasn't feeling up to playing that role again at this time.

"Cobra Kai" did the two things every legacy sequel needs to do — it effectively rebooted the franchise with a fresh new cast that grew to be as memorable and likable as the original, fitting both the archetypes of the original cast while being new and unique characters. Miguel Díaz (Xolo Maridueña) and Robbie Keane (Tanner Buchanan) started off as sort of reverse Daniel and Johnny, but they ended up becoming so much more in the course of the show.

And yet, the show also managed to be a rather incredible continuation of the original "Karate Kid" trilogy. Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) became a much more nuanced character, a flawed individual with insecurities and who grows over time, while Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) turned from a simplistic antagonist, a teen bully, into a complex three-dimensional character who made mistakes and tries to be better slowly. Indeed, "Cobra Kai" shone when it came to reintroducing villains,...

Picture this. A tough-as-nails vampire hunter named Jack Crow sneers his way through his kills, using sheer spite to hunt vampires down in droves. You see, his family was destroyed by these creatures of the night, so it is now his life's mission to kill them all and look cool while doing it. He's a mercenary who drives stakes through vampire skulls and hearts like a fighting combo, often dragging them out in the sunlight with steel cables to watch them violently combust.

It would be tempting to compare him to a spell-casting exorcist like John Constantine or a fellow vampire hunter like Van Helsing, but Crow — despite his general badassery — is rather unpleasant to be around. He worships toxic notions of masculinity and spews misogynistic insults unprompted, but these traits are never met with criticism or pushback. This conflicting morality surrounding Crow sums up John Carpenter's "Vampires," where...

Cobra Kai was a massive hit and helped put the Karate Kid franchise back in the mainstream. Despite the success, the Cobra Kai creators still have their regrets.

Josh Heald, Jon Huwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg still regret that they couldn't get Hilary Swank to appear on the show. The Oscar-winning star appeared in the 1994 franchise entry The Next Karate Kid, playing Julie Pierce, another student of Pat Morita's Mr Miyagi. The movie received poor reviews and didn't make a lot of money, but die-hard Karate Kid fans still love it. The Cobra Kai team spoke to Entertainment Weekly recently about how they wanted to catch up with Julie, but couldn't.

"We did reach out [to Swank] in the very early days before the season to see if there was a path [for her to appear]," Heald told the outlet. "We had an inkling of an idea about how she could come into this story...

1984 was one of those landmark years in which cinephiles, film lovers, and people in general were gifted with a collection of films that would become staples of many childhoods and lives from people back then and to this date. Talking about “Ghostbusters,” “Beverly Hills Cops,” “Gremlins,” “Police Academy…” and of course, a little martial arts film directed by Rocky director John G. Avildsen called “The Karate Kid.”

Featuring “Happy Days” star Pat Morita (in an Academy Award-nominated role) and an up-and-coming young actor, Ralph Macchio, as a sensei and his student, respectively, the film was not only anchored by a strong lead performance, but also full of memorable moments that have become part of the cultural zeitgeist. The film became the fifth highest-grossing movie of that year, so Hollywood being Hollywood, it wasn’t a surprise they would keep milking this cow, and so they did.

Without further ado, here...

"Karate Kid: Legends" really likes to tell its audience that it's about two branches of the same tree. In-universe, this refers to the kung-fu that Jackie Chan's Mr. Han teaches and the karate that Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi used to practice. In reality, however, this can also apply to "Karate Kid: Legends" being a tale of two movies at odds with each other. The first movie is a fantastic reconstruction of the "Karate Kid" formula and tropes, with the titular kid becoming a teacher rather than being a student.

It helps that Ben Wang is a really good lead. He portrays his character, Li Fong, as a relatable and charismatic underdog with a painful past that you can't help but root for. And yet, he is not completely defenseless, as for the first time the protagonist of a "Karate Kid" title already has some martial arts knowledge at the start of the story.

This article contains spoilers for "Karate Kid: Legends."

In 1984, John G. Avildsen's "The Karate Kid" was one of the best family movies around, and for the past 40 years, nothing has been able to keep it down. The series of films revolving around teenagers overcoming the obstacles in their lives through martial arts has somehow managed to evade obscurity by switching up the formula. Even the 2010 reboot starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith ended up being a pretty good movie in its own right. But let's be real. The only reason "The Karate Kid" franchise is still as prominent as it is today is because of "Cobra Kai."

The YouTube Red turned Netflix sensation is quite the anomaly. There were so many ways in which a legacy sequel series to an '80s phenomenon could have gone sour. But "Cobra Kai" struck hard by pushing those tropes to such an...

The weekend sees the release of the sixth Karate Kid film, Karate Kid: Legends. This one tries to string together the continuity of the original 1984 film (and Cobra Kai) with the 2010 reboot led by Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. While I wrote in my review the many reasons I didn’t think it worked, audiences liked it, giving it an A-minus CinemaScore, and an opening north of $20 million.

That’s not bad for a forty one year old franchise, which was brilliantly reinvigorated by the excellent streaming series, Cobra Kai, which took the perspective of not only the hero of the original Karate Kid, Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio), but also the bad guy – Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). It also introduced a whole host of characters that became fan favorites – none of whom show up in Karate Kid: Legends.

So, which of the movies is your favorite? The 1984 original is the obvious choice,...

This week, the Karate Kid franchise is back in theaters for the first time in 15 years with Karate Kid: Legends. And unlike the 2010 film, this movie is a true continuation of everything that came before it.

Who could have predicted that there would be a new Karate Kid movie over four decades after the original? The 1984 original has withstood the test of time, and it gave Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita two of their most iconic roles as Daniel Larusso and his mentor, Mr. Miyagi.

Although Morita died in 2005, Macchio has kept the flame of The Karate Kid alive in both the sequel series, Cobra Kai, and the newly released Karate Kid: Legends. In honor of that film, we’re ranking the entire Karate Kid franchise, including the two TV shows.

Read: ‘The Karate Kid’ series has more Oscar nominations than you might remember

8. The Karate Kid (1989 Animated Series...

Ahead Of Karate Kid: Legends, Where To Watch All Karate Kid Movies On Ott (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

Karate Kid: Legends, the sixth film of The Karate Kid franchise, is set for its theatrical release on 30th May 2025, including Indian theatres. Interestingly, Ajay Devgn and his son Yug Devgn have done the voiceovers for the Hindi version. Before the eagerly anticipated film hits the big screens, we have got you covered if you are interested in revisiting all or some of the earlier Karate Kid films from the comfort of your home. We have collated the list of all the Karate Kid movies and where you can stream them on Indian Ott platforms. So, here we go.

1. The Karate Kid Release Year – 1984 Streaming On – Netflix, Amazon Prime Video (Sony Pictures Channel), Mx Player IMDb Rating: 7.3/10 Director – John G. Avildsen

Plot: The film follows a teenage boy, Daniel Larusso (played by...

While I still have some fun classic sci fi stories to address coming up, I wanted to break off and take a look as well as give props to one of the more prolific yet slept-on horror authors to get adaptations. Stephen King is the all-time number 1 but there are others in the 20th century that could at least eat at the same table as him. For the younger generation, that certainly means R.L. Stine has entered the conversation and maybe we will get to an adaptation video about his recent Fear Street collection but the guy I’m thinking of is a little different. Dean Koontz is often derogatorily referred to as a poor man’s Stephen King but he has sold and made millions while having plenty of his works turned into films. While The Funhouse from Tobe Hooper will certainly be discussed at some point as I...

When you hear John Carpenter’s 1998 classic, your mind immediately goes to Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. However, Carpenter was not involved in this seventh instalment of the Halloween franchise. He turned down the directing gig of the film after the Weinstein brothers rejected his salary demand of $10 million.

Carpenter instead committed to the vampire genre film, Vampires, starring James Woods. The 1990s weren’t kind to Carpenter, as none of his films up until Vampires made any financial gains for the studios despite the fact that many of them went on to become cult hits. The 1998 film broke this pattern and went on to become financially successful.

John Carpenter’s must-watch blood-sucking thriller of 1998 is on Netflix James Woods in a still from John Carpenter’s Vampires | Credits: Columbia Pictures

John Carpenter‘s Vampires came at a time when the director thought about quitting the industry. However, when the...

Ralph Macchio’s Cobra Kai series wrapped up its six-season-long journey this year with great fan fervor. However, the franchise itself is far from over, and so is Macchio’s connection to it. In fact, May 30th will bring in a new era of the franchise with Karate Kid: Legends starring Ralph Macchio, Jackie Chan and Ben Wang.

As such, to say I’m excited to see where things ultimately head won’t be an exaggeration. However, even with my excitement around the franchise, one thing has been bothering me for the past few years. Macchio’s Cobra Kai finally wrapping up only heightened that feeling even more for me.

Ralph Macchio in a still from The Karate Kid | Credits: Columbia Pictures

Basically, I couldn’t wrap my head around Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce not appearing even once in the series during its entire run. Ralph Macchio’s response...

The Karate Kid trilogy is heading to Hulu. The first three installments in the fan-favorite martial arts franchise will be added to the streaming service at the top of next month.

Beginning April 1, the John G. Avildsen-directed The Karate Kid (1984) as well as its first two sequels — 1986's The Karate Kid Part II and 1989's The Karate Kid Part III — will be available to stream on Hulu. The original Karate Kid film was a major cultural phenomenon in the United States when it was released in 1984, with audiences resonating with the story of teenager Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio), who is taught karate by Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) to help defend himself and compete in a karate tournament against his bullies. The Karate Kid is considered a sleeper hit, grossing over $130 million worldwide against a production budget of $8 million.

The success of the movie led to The Karate Kid Part II...

For six seasons, "Cobra Kai" brought '80s nostalgia and absurd karate action to YouTube and then to Netflix, only to come to a climactic conclusion earlier this year with the end of "Cobra Kai" season 6. Netflix built up to the proper finale with plenty of fanfare, giving each character a proper send-off (some more explosive than others), and wrapping things up with a series of one-on-one world championship duels for the key characters.

It's rare in the streaming era that shows get to go out so decisively on their own terms, and yet, the show's popularity means that many fans are still hoping there could be a chance for "Cobra Kai" season 7. Is there really, though? Well, probably not -- at least, not under that name. The showrunners, stars, and Netflix itself have all made it clear that season 6 is the end, but they've also talked extensively about the...

Introduced in The Karate Kid Part III, Terry Silver has been one of the most notorious villains to feature in the franchise. The extended series of the franchise reignited the horrors of his past after John Kreese sought his assistance in running the Cobra Kai dojo.

Terry Silver in Cobra Kai | Credit: Netflix

Portrayed by Thomas Ian Griffith, the show offers a glimpse into his past, including the revelation that his erratic behavior towards Daniel Larusso was the result of his cocaine addiction.

However, the actor himself was skeptical of this development, as he previously expressed doubts about whether it would resonate with the audience.

Thomas Ian Griffith did not expect Terry Silver’s confession to resonate with Cobra Kai fans

Netflix’s Cobra Kai redeemed several Karate Kid characters like Johnny Lawrence and John Kreese, throughout its run. The series attempted the same with The Karate Kid Part III villain,...

Exclusive: Netflix’s popular romantic drama Virgin River has cast Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries) and Cody Kearsley (Riverdale) in recurring roles for the upcoming seventh season, which has begun production, with Deadline able to share two behind the scenes images from the set in Vancouver featuring most main cast members, including stars Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson (You can see them below). The new season, which will pick up two hours after the end of the Season 6 finale at Mel (Breckenridge) and Jack’s (Henderson) wedding, is expected to premiere in early 2026.

Canadian actors Canning and Kearsley will play characters related to an existing and new storyline, respectively, on the series based on Robyn Carr’s novels about the tight-knit community in the remote California town of Virgin River.

Canning’s Victoria is an ex-cop who was shot in the line of duty and is now working for the...

Portrayed by Thomas Ian Griffith in The Karate Kid Part III, Terry Silver was once seen as an over-the-top and cartoonish villain. However, his return in Cobra Kai proved that he was more than just a relic of the past as he became the driving force of the show.

Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver | Credit: Netflix

While his actions spiral into extreme measures, Silver serves as a reminder that the ruthless mindset of Cobra Kai exists in everyone, especially through his influence on those around him, like Daniel Larusso. His charisma, manipulation, and sheer dominance make him the heart of Cobra Kai.

Terry Silver took over the show’s narrative after his return in Cobra Kai Season 4

After facing humiliation at the hands of Daniel Larusso and Johnny Lawrence, John Kreese turns to his old war buddy and original Cobra Kai founder, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), for help.

John Carpenter's underrated horror film, Vampires, has been resurrected on Netflix. The film was originally adapted from the novel Vampire$ by John Steakley.

John Carpenter's Vampires sees James Woods starring as Jack Crow, the leader of a group of vampire hunters. He leads the team as their "master slayer", working to prevent a centuries-old cross from falling into the hands of Jan Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith), the progenitor of all vampires. The film's supporting cast includes Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Tim Guinee and Maximillian Schell.

Carpenter took a unique approach to the film's casting, actively avoiding "another musclebound meathead" for the lead role, which led to Woods' casting.Clint Eastwood, Kurt Russell, Bill Paxton, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and R. Lee Ermey were all reportedly considered for the role, but either declined or had scheduling conflicts. Sheryl Lee, who plays a prostitute with a psychic link to Valek, was...

In the summer of 2001, Vin Diesel became a household name. The Fast and the Furious, which was designed as little more than a modestly budgeted action programmer, became the breakout hit of that summer, capturing the cultural zeitgeist in a way that’s hard to reverse engineer. It was a major hit with the youth market. Diesel, with his bald head, muscular physique and unforgettable voice became the decade’s first icon, with audiences fascinated by his macho vibe, ambiguous ethnicity, and signature look. Studios didn’t waste any time building a star vehicle around him, with Sony making him the lead of a new super spy franchise they hoped would give James Bond some serious competition. The film, XXX, was among the most hyped films of the decade, with many thinking it would be such a phenomenon that it would make the Bond franchise irrelevant. That didn’t quite happen,...

Martin Kove's iconic character, John Kreese, stole the show in Cobra KaiSeason 6's emotionally charged 13th episode, "Skeletons." After over 40 years of waiting, Karate Kidfans got to witness the often despicable Kreese finally finding redemption for the unspeakable wrongs he did to his star student, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Unfortunately, after turning back over the Cobra Kai dojo to Johnny, it appears that Kreese was killed in an explosion while battling Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). However, there was an alternate ending filmed in which Kreese miraculously escaped the flames engulfing Silver's destroyed yacht. Kove said in an interview with People:

"A lot of the fans think that the character, he should have come out of the water and survived. We did shoot a scene like that. We did shoot a scene where I'm smoking the cigar [the character’s trademark vice], and I grab a magazine. It implies in Episode 15 that he didn't die,...

This article contains spoilers for "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3.

With each new season of "Cobra Kai," it was difficult to not be in awe of its audacity to bring back all manner of "Karate Kid" alumni. The consistency in which it did so would sink just about any other franchise into empty nostalgic reverence ... and yet, it kind of worked. The only time it ever really fumbled this was with the unsettling AI resurrection of Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). Otherwise, when a returning character like Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) or Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue) made an appearance on the show, they became integral parts of the story. Pulling heroes and villains from past films for "Cobra Kai" (like Thomas Ian Griffith's Terry Silver) retroactively made them better and, even more shockingly, meaningful.

In the Season 2 episode "Take a Right," Johnny (William Zabka) receives a call from his high school...

Spoiler Alert !!!'Cobra Kai' season 6 spoilers ahead!

Cobra Kai has proven to be one of the finest installments from the Karate Kid franchise, bringing about tropes and storylines that we just couldn’t have enough of. For one, it raged on the screens for over six seasons consisting of a total of 65 episodes, from May 2018 to February 2025, and I still feel heartbroken about the show going off air.

Cobra Kai. | Credits: Netflix.

Yet, as excellent as it was in delivering all those plotlines, the series could have fixed quite a bit for some of the characters – like Mike Barnes. On the one hand, while William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence had a moving conclusion to his arc, I think there was the perfect way Ralph Macchio’s Daniel Larusso could have saved Sean Kanan’s Mike too.

Daniel Larusso could have saved Mike Barnes in Cobra Kai Mike Barnes.

Spoilers for "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3 to follow.

After six incredible seasons with some genuinely wild plot threads sweeping the legs of audiences, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) has taken over the Cobra Kai dojo as Sekai Taikai champion, becoming a sensei with lessons of his own to learn. Along the way, he and his foe-turned-friend, Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio), encountered plenty of forgotten faces from the original "Karate Kid" trilogy. Staples like John Kreese (Martin Kove) and Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) have caused continuous issues for our heroes. At the same time, fan favorites like Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) still had stories to finish by the time the last punch was thrown. But even after all that, could the guest list for Miyagi-Do have been a little bigger? Could time have been made to bring some other essential players in the "Karate Kid" franchise back for a final round, and if not,...

This article contains spoilers for "Cobra Kai" season 6, part 3.

"The Karate Kid" movies started it, and "Cobra Kai" embraced it: the use of increasingly absurd special moves to win the day. The franchise was known for these game-changing, super techniques well before fighting games like "Street Fighter II" and "Mortal Kombat" made them popular, and the franchise never really stopped. As a result, "Cobra Kai" builds a wealth of these iconic moves to choose from, usually rolling out at least one every season. All of these secret techniques serve a specific purpose, but they vary greatly in power and the way they're used on the show.  

For the purposes of this list, I'll focus exclusively on feats. As such, an efficient move like Johnny Lawrence's (William Zabka) Eagle Fang special, the Flying Tornado Kick, is out, simply because its two most prominent moments are comparatively underwhelming. Plus, one of them...

Cobra Kai’s showrunner Jon Hurwitz has addressed the cameo, or lack thereof, of Hilary Swank's character in the series finale. Swank played Julie Pierce in The Next Karate Kid, the fourth movie in the Karate Kid franchise and Pat Morita's last appearance as Mr. Miyagi. The film's reception was not good, and it ended up burying the franchise until the 2010 reboot. Although the showrunners and writers found a way to bring back almost every single character, even those played by late actors, Swank was one of the biggest legacy characters who wasn't present in the show. And we finally know the reason why.

The Netflix TV spin-off of the Karate Kid franchise concluded its six-season run as a funny and nostalgic series that expanded on the cultural landmark that made everyone start karate classes in the 1980s. The series used everything, from needle drops to nods to Easter eggs,...

Spoilers ahead for all of "Cobra Kai."

Netflix's "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3 has come to a characteristically hard-hitting close, with climactic fights and even literal explosions making sure that viewers get their fill of hand-to-hand combat. Throughout the popular "The Karate Kid" sequel show's duration, fans have been treated to an amazing collection of fights that range from borderline comical to performatively acrobatic and even deathly serious. With the series' end finally at hand, it's high time to look at the best and most high-kicking martial arts performances across the show's six seasons.

Since every season of "Cobra Kai" features so very many fights, there's a chance that some of your favorites will be absent from the following list. Still, while it's by no means an objective rundown, this ranking of the finest clashes in "Cobra Kai" honors some of the greatest moments of the delightfully punchy series.

Read...

This article contains spoilers for "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3.

The best legacy sequels use familiar faces to attract franchise devotees while also introducing fresh characters to pull in a whole new generation. For six wild seasons of television, "Cobra Kai" managed to do just that, giving both the younger and older members of the "Karate Kid" property equal time to shine. There were, admittedly, moments when the show seemed in danger of sinking under the weight of all its callbacks and returning players. But "Cobra Kai" managed to push its legacy sequel inclinations to such extremes that it circled back around to being oddly endearing -- for the most part.

With each passing season, it also became apparent that pretty much any "Karate Kid" movie character, no matter how small, beloved or maligned, was fair game to return. Indeed, Thomas Ian Griffith's Terry Silver went from the slimy, over-the-top...

Warning! The Following Contains Spoilers From Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3.

Ralph Macchio loves that Daniel Larusso enjoys a moment of reflection in the form of a flashback to The Karate Kid (1984) during the controversial final scene of Cobra KaiSeason 6 Part 3. While Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) exits to “drain the main vein” in the restroom, Daniel recalls the time he was able to catch a fly with chopsticks and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) could not.

"Beginners luck," Miyagi scoffed in the flashback to the classic movie. However, back in the present day, Daniel isn’t able to replicate the feat he pulled off as a teenager because Johnny returns and smashes the insect before it can be secured by the chopsticks. Macchio said in an interview with Tudum about the final scene's callback to the 1984 film:

"I love the way they wrap that up. It’s so reminiscent of a famous...

Spoilers for "Cobra Kai" season 6, part 3 follow.

After a very respectable run of five regular seasons and a massive, three-part season 6, "Cobra Kai" comes to a close. Over the course of its 65-episode run, the martial arts comedy-drama has introduced a massive cast of karate experts who have clashed with each other so many times that a fan is bound to have at least some thoughts about their power ranking.

Putting together a list of "Cobra Kai's" greatest fighters is trickier than it seems. While it's easy to determine that ruthless military man Captain George Turner (Terry Serpico) is likely a better martial artist than young Bert (Owen Morgan), many of the show's major names have an extremely eclectic win-loss record that forces the reviewer to lean heavily into their status near the end of the show. For instance, Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) is a beast, but he's also...

Quick LinksTory Nichols Has Been One of Cobra Kai's Most Engaging Characters Since Her IntroductionTory Spends Most of the Series Miserable and Doomed to TragedyCobra Kai Gives Tory the Ending She's Always Deserved

With the conclusion of Season 6, Part 3, Cobra Kaihas finally come to an end. The Karate Kid sequel series/karate soap opera has entertained fans since 2018, but for now, the stories of Johnny Lawrence, Daniel Larusso, and the rest of the ensemble cast are over. The final episodes of the series do an exceptional job giving resolution to most of the core characters, but there's one in particular whose ending is particularly satisfying.

Tory Nichols has been a highlight of Cobra Kai since Season 2, but it's only in Season 6, Part 3, that she finally becomes a champion. Like many characters in the series, she serves as both a hero and a villain at different points, but she stands out...

The past 15 years or so have been dominated by legacy sequels, movies that bring back beloved franchises with stories that land somewhere between a reboot, a sequel, and a remake. Out of the bunch, "Cobra Kai" is one of the best ones. From the moment the first season premiered on the defunct YouTube Red platform, "Cobra Kai" has managed to excel at being not only a continuation of Johnny Lawrence's (William Zabka) story on top of a reboot following a new generation of kids but also a rather good pseudo-remake of the original "Karate Kid" movies.

After all, the story of Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) heavily echoed that of Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) in the first film, but with a twist. Like Daniel, Miguel is a new kid in town who learns karate to defend himself from bullies and gain self-confidence, enters a tournament, and uses a crane kick to...

Executive Producer Hayden Schlossberg, Ralph Macchio as Daniel Larusso, William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence, and Executive Producer Jon Hurwitz on the set of ‘Cobra Kai’ (Cr. Elizabeth Morris/Netflix © 2025)

This last Cobra Kai interview is really all spoilers. I tried to ask some general stuff, but the last five episodes are such a conclusion that each question led to a spoiler. So we held this interview until after the weekend the Cobra Kai finale aired. Still, Spoiler Warning. This is for people who have watched all five of the final episodes of Cobra Kai on Netflix.

Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald created the show for YouTube Originals in 2018. In revisiting The Karate Kid from Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka)’s perspective, they recontextualized ‘80s movie villains for a modern era. They brought back movie hero Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) and villains John Kreese (Martin Kove) and Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith...

This article contains mild spoilers for "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3.

Over the course of its six seasons, "Cobra Kai" has had a lot of cameos, but those have typically involved actors from the larger "Karate Kid" franchise. Actors like Robyn Lively, Elisabeth Shue, Tamlyn Tomita, Sean Kanan, Rob Garrison, and Tony O'Dell have all reprised their former "Karate Kid" film roles on the series, adding to the sense that "Cobra Kai" truly exists in the same living world as those '80s movies. In Season 6 Part 3, however, the show features a couple of cameos of another sort.

After the Sekai Taikai tournament ends in bloody fashion in Barcelona, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) has the final rounds moved to the San Fernando Valley, where a pair of real-life sports commentators cover the matches for live TV. If these names and faces look familiar, then you've probably watched at least a...

This story contains Major Spoilers for the final episodes of Cobra Kai.

For a series with a lot of action, Cobra Kai cannot claim to have seen many characters pass over its six-season run. More so, its leads tended to suffer broken bones and bruised egos rather than the permanence of death.

Still, in the climactic final episodes of the series, the show managed to claim two of Daniel Larusso’s (Ralph Macchio) worst enemies from The Karate Kid franchise—Terry Silver and John Kreese—both bit the bullet, and that’s confirmed. The series' ending is nearly perfect for both characters, who have had long arcs building to this climatic finale, but it was almost the perfect ending that wasn’t.

Related'i Like to Believe He'd Be Proud of Me': Ralph Macchio Remembers Pat Morita 41 Years After The Karate Kid

Ralph Macchio addresses what he thinks Pat Morita would...

The following contains major spoilers forCobra KaiSeaon 6, Episode 15, "Ex-Degenerate."

Cobra Kai ended its six-season run by permanently dissolving the rivalry between Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). The series also got rid of its Karate Kid villains in the most dramatic way possible.

Speaking to GamesRadar+, showrunner Jon Hurwitz said that Daniel and Johnny reconciling was always the plan. "It was always the idea, speaking specifically for the very end with Johnny and Daniel, we wanted them to be together and finally have a friendship," he explained. "It's so funny 'cause I remember in season one when we were making the show, the early notes we got from the studio were, 'Can Johnny and Daniel be running a dojo together?'"

RelatedEvery Main Character's Fate at the End of Cobra Kai

Cobra Kai has sadly come to an end after its six-season run, cementing the fate of each main character.

This story contains Major Spoilers for Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3.

Cobra Kai's season 6 part 3 on Netflix saw the deaths of two of the franchise's oldest villains. Karate Kid star Ralph Macchio has weighed in on how these deaths may affect his character, Daniel Larusso.

Cobra Kai Season 6 brought about the shocking deaths of John Kreese and Terry Silver in a final fight between the two. The long-awaited battle between the two ended in a fiery way as Kreese blew up both of them on the boat they were fighting on. The fight capped off Kreese's redemption arc as he sacrificed himself in order to save his former student. Per Screen Rant, Macchio expressed to Netflix that he feels Daniel will be negatively affected by this violent outcome.

Related'We Were Giant Fans': Cobra Kai Co-Creator Reveals Which Karate Kid Cameo They Wished They Had in the Finale

They teased the cameo...

Cobra Kaihas officially ended, and while many characters from the Karate Kid franchise returned at some point, there was one that was strangely absent: Julie Pierce from The Next Karate Kid, played by Oscar-winner Hilary Swank. Even minor figures from the franchise had their respective cameos, making fans think that Pierce would also show up in the sixth and final season. Ultimately, it didn't happen, and co-creator Jon Hurwitz has revealed why.

Cobra Kai, the Karate Kid spin-off that renewed the public's fascination with the martial arts franchise, ended its run with Season 6 Part 3 debuting on Netflix a few days ago. All character arcs were solved, mysteries were solved, and the show had a very happy ending. And the respective Miyagi cameo? It was also there to divide audiences over the questionable use of AI to bring Pat Morita back to screens.

Throughout its entire run, producers were able to...

"Cobra Kai" season 6 tackled many, many, many storylines. There was, of course, the big Sekai Taikai karate tournament that brought the best dojos from around the world to settle the question of who's the best around. There was also the matter of Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) coming back from the shadows for one last villainous effort. At the same time, each character dealt with their own anxieties about the future outside of karate and how much they needed the Seikai Taikai, while Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) struggled with the news that he was going to be a dad.

And in the middle of all this, there was also a mystery involving Mr. Miyagi's (Pat Morita) past that shook Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) to his core. This subplot was an unexpected and quite underwhelming focus of all three parts of season 6, with a distracted Daniel obsessed with discovering what...

This article contains spoilers for "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3.

"Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3 doesn't hesitate to give its main characters their just desserts. While the show sweeps several members of its extensive cast to the sidelines out of necessity, Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence's (William Zabka) inner circles get perfectly satisfactory happy endings, each tailor made for the character in question. Likewise, the franchise's two biggest overarching antagonists get a thematically appropriate send-off, as 1980s uber-villains John Kreese (Martin Kove) and Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) die in an explosive and extremely 1980s-coded yacht punch-up.

However, not everyone gets what they deserve. In fact, by the time the credits roll for the series finale, titled "Ex-Degenerate," two major characters quite literally get away with murder.

Desiring to gain control of the Korean branch of Cobra Kai, Kim Da-Eun (Alicia Hannah-Kim) kills her own grandfather Kim Sun-Yung (C. S. Lee...

Quick LinksA Recap of Kreese and Silver in 'Cobra Kai'Kreese and Silver’s Final Moves in 'Cobra Kai'Kreese & Silver’s Journeys up to 'Cobra Kai' Season 6

Through its entire six-season run, Cobra Kai has always been about villains. At its core, the question fans had to ask is whether Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) was/is the real villain or Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio). The story expanded to include a new generation of kids, initially centered around Miguel (Xolo Mariduena), a young student dealing with bullies much like Daniel did, along with new bullies turned good kids like Tory (Peyton List), Robby (Tanner Buchanan), and Kenny (Dallas Dupree Young).

Of course, what would a show like Cobra Kai, which reopens wounds from The Karate Kid more than 30 years ago, be without some of its original villains? Two who returned to reprise their roles from the original franchise films definitely won’t be returning.

Warning! The Following Contains Spoilers from Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3.

Ralph Macchio is definitely open to waxing on and off again in a future Cobra Kai film if it's done under the right conditions. Until then, though, Season 6 Part 3 officially marks the bittersweet swan song for Netflix’s continuation of the Miyagi-verse, which expanded The Karate Kid’s beloved mythology on the small screen thanks to showrunners Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg.

However, Macchio himself, who will appear again as his crane-kicking character in this summer’s Karate Kid: Legends, would definitely suit up in Daniel Larusso’s trademark gi under the right circumstances for a Cobra Kai film down the road. Macchio said in an interview with The New York Times:

"Listen, I said it was the end for me when I got done with the last 1980s Karate Kid movie. So, I will say never say never.

The Karate Kid first premiered way back in 1984. While many have largely forgotten about the details of the film and the characters, the launch of Cobra Kai brought everything right back into focus. Set in the present day, Cobra Kai focuses on a new group of karate students. But it’s also about the reunion between Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), bitter high school and karate rivals.

While The Karate Kid always painted Johnny as the bully and Daniel as the victim, Cobra Kai flips the script and shows another side of the equation. Johnny had a tough life. He had a tyrant for a sensei when he was a teenager. And the result of the All-Valley Tournament changed the trajectory of his life for the worse. In the last batch of episodes for Cobra Kai’s final season, there’s finally closure for one of...

Note: The following story contains spoilers from “Cobra Kai” Season 6, Part 3.

The “Cobra Kai” showrunners wanted to put Johnny’s (William Zabka) “bloodier, sweatier” fight in the series finale to mimic the underdog energy Daniel (Ralph Macchio) had in “The Karate Kid.”

The YouTube-turned-Netflix series wrapped up its six-season, 65-episode story with Johnny squaring off against Wolf (Lewis Tan) in a tiebreaker match to decide whether Cobra Kai or Iron Dragon would win the Sekai Taikai tournament. The showrunners told TheWrap that the goal of the final episode was to return to the karate tournament mats in a more brutal fashion then fans had seen before.

“It’s ‘Rocky IV,’ you know,” Josh Heald said. “It’s bloodier, it’s sweatier, it’s more brutal in certain ways.”

For Johnny, his finale bout with Wolf sends him back to his 1984 fight against Daniel. It’s something that showrunner...

This article contains spoilers for "Cobra Kai."

"Cobra Kai" is the best-case scenario for what a legacy sequel should be. It is full of homages and references to the original "Karate Kid" movies, from replaying their most popular songs to reusing entire lines of dialogue and replicating moments and iconography. And yet, it never feels like the show is winking at the audience or being cheeky in its meta-ness. Instead, there's a sense of things being cyclical in "Cobra Kai," that students learn from their teachers and then pass on those lessons to students of their own.

It helps that "Cobra Kai" is constantly bringing back actors from previous "Karate Kid" films for cameo appearances — or to play central roles — and showing how much they have (or haven't) changed over the past four decades. Take Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) and how much he channels Mr. Miyagi throughout the show, while...