How Cobra Kai’s Series Finale Sets Up Karate Kid: Legends Movie

After six seasons and 65 episodes, Cobra Kai has officially come to an end. Thursday morning saw the last batch of five episodes drop on Netflix, closing a massive chapter in the overall Karate Kid saga. However, we know the book of Karate Kid is still wide open, as the new movie Karate Kid: Legends hits theaters in May, and it will feature Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid star Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in a prominent role.

Daniel will somehow cross paths with Mr. Han, the instructor from 2010’s The Karate Kid remake played by Jackie Chan, and the two of them will head to the East Coast and train a boy from China. Many fans theorized that the ending of Cobra Kai would set up Karate Kid: Legends in some way. Now that the finale of the series is here, we know exactly how much (or how little) set up there is for the next Karate Kid. WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Cobra Kai! Continue reading at your own risk…

In an effort to preserve some spoilers, we’ll just focus on where the Cobra Kai finale leaves Daniel, because he’s currently the only star of the show confirmed to appear in Karate Kid: Legends.

After the Sekai Taikai, Daniel ends up continuing on with Miyagi-do, still running the dojo out of Mr. Miyagi’s old house. Johnny, meanwhile, has Cobra Kai up and running again. The two work in tandem, often sending students to one another so they can learn both offense (Cobra Kai) and defense (Miyagi-do). Daniel and Johnny are in a much better place as friends, and Daniel has finally found some peace in his own heart about the role karate has in his life.

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So really, there isn’t a lot of set up for Karate Kid: Legends. That said, the ending of Cobra Kai does free Daniel up to travel with Mr. Han in the movie. He has found a great balance with karate and the rest of his personal life, allowing him to find the joy in it again. He also has a partner to continue running his dojo if he ever needed to miss time, as the students could just do some extra work with Cobra Kai.

Unfortunately, Mr. Han doesn’t show up in the Cobra Kai finale, and there isn’t some big moment of Daniel declaring “I’ve got to go see an old friend,” or anything like that. We know from the Legends trailer that Mr. Han will show up at Miyagi-do asking Daniel to help him, but that’s it.

Given the place Daniel and Johnny are in as friends and sensei’s, it does make you wonder if Johnny will be involved in the movie in some way, even if it’s just a short appearance. The two of them work closely together, and the blending of their styles is what ultimately brought out the best in their students. So Johnny playing some role in the training of this new Karate Kid would make a lot of sense.

Karate Kid: Legends is set to hit theaters on May 30th.