Over 30 years after Daniel LaRusso crane-kicked his way into pop culture immortality in The Karate Kid, two of the film’s original stars will reunite for a new series titled Cobra Kai.
Ralph Macchio, who played LaRusso in the franchise, and William Zabka, who played his leg-sweeping nemesis Johnny Lawrence, will both reprise their roles in Cobra Kai.
As opposed to a straight reboot or revival, the upcoming series will turn the Eighties classic into a 10-episode comedy series. Cobra Kai will come to YouTube Red in 2018 following what the Hollywood Reporter described as a “competitive” bidding war between the streaming services.
The series finds a down-and-out Johnny reopening the infamous Cobra Kai dojo, which reignites his feud with the now-successful LaRusso.
“If The Karate Kid was Daniel’s story, Cobra Kai is equal parts Daniel and Johnny’s story,” YouTube global head of originals Susanne Daniels told THR. “Also because this is a series and not a movie, we really wanted to reimagine how the story was told. Changing the name made sense as part of that.”
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg will co-write and direct most of the series.
Source: Rolling Stone