An Eighties rivalry is renewed in the first trailer for Cobra Kai, the Karate Kid sequel series with Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reprising their roles from the 1984 cult classic.
The teaser trailer begins with Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence reopening the infamous dojo and soon juxtaposes that karate school’s cutthroat teachings – “We’re not trained to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak” – with the more introspective training given to Macchio’s Daniel LaRussa by his late sensei Mr. Miyagi. “You may have the moves but none of that matters unless you have balance,” LaRussa says in voiceover.
The preview ends with Lawrence and LaRussa facing each other inside an empty Cobra Kai dojo, reigniting the feud over 30 years after they faced off in the All Valley Karate Tournament.
“Karate Kid’s Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso aren’t the same people they were in high school— but their rivalry hasn’t changed one bit. The Karate Kid saga continues,” the series synopsis says. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg co-wrote and directed most of the series.
More details about the series, which will debut on YouTube Red later this year. In the sequel, although Lawrence is reviving the villainous dojo, the character serves as a sensei to a bullied high school student, much like LaRussa was in the original film.
Two stars of ‘The Karate Kid,’ Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, will reunite for a new YouTube Red revival series titled Cobra Kai. Everett Collection