Cobra Kai Co-Creator Reacts to New Karate Kid Movie Announcement

Yesterday, Sony announced that a new Karate Kid movie is coming in 2024, calling it “the return of the original Karate Kid franchise.” This left some fans confused considering Netflix’s Cobra Kai is currently thriving with many of the original cast members, including Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso) and William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence). The series just debuted its fifth season, and Macchio recently teased the possibility of a “Karate Kid Cinematic Universe.” However, the show’s co-creator, Jon Hurwitz, just confirmed that the new movie has nothing to do with Cobra Kai. 

“Have you heard anything about a new movie for karate kid??? Is it real?” one fan asked on Twitter. “The guys and I would love to make Karate Kid and Cobra Kai movies and hope to someday. But this one isn’t from us or focused on the Cobra Kai cast. Don’t know much about it, but wish it well,” Hurwitz replied. You can check out the post, which includes a lot of heated fans in the comments saying Sony’s announcement was “disrespectful,” below:

The guys and I would love to make Karate Kid and Cobra Kai movies and hope to someday. But this one isn't from us or focused on the Cobra Kai cast. Don't know much about it, but wish it well. #KarateKid #CobraKai https://t.co/pd2aYYAF0A

— Jon Hurwitz (@jonhurwitz) September 17, 2022

“The thing that’s been created, there’s kind of this Karate Kid Cinematic Universe now where Cobra Kai is, you know, at the center of that and when that day does come in for a landing, there are other areas to draw from,” Macchio recently told ComicBook.com. “I mean, whether it’s … Is there a Miyagi origin story? Is there a Cobra Kai prequel before The Karate Kid? Is there spin-offs with some of the young cast of these characters? Who knows? But we’re not done as long as we’re given the opportunity to really bring it in. As long as it evolves organically, these guys that write the show really have their finger on the pulse of that.” 

Macchio added, “There’s stuff that they wrote in Season 3 that didn’t happen until Season 4 ’cause there wasn’t any more room in Season 3. There’s stuff that was in Season 5 that we know we shot that is being held for the future if we get that green light, so there’s more to come, we hope.”

How do you feel about the new Karate Kid being separate from Cobra Kai? Tell us in the comments! 

Cobra Kai Season 5 is now streaming on Netflix, and the new Karate Kid is scheduled to be released on June 7, 2024.