It has been four years since The Karate Kid‘s surprise sequel, Cobra Kai, launched on Netflix. The spinoff series takes place 34 years after the events of the original Karate Kid film. Cobra Kai brought back original stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka to reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, respectively. Cobra Kai turned out to be a success and offers a perfect mixture of nostalgia, karate action, and teenage angst.
The series explores what happens when Lawrence re-opens the Cobra Kai dojo and instills the old values of ‘no mercy.’ LaRusso responds by opening his own dojo, Miyagi-Do, which is based on the peaceful teachings of Mr. Miyagi. Lawrence and LaRusso’s old feud resurfaces and spills into the next generation—with disastrous consequences. However, Cobra Kai refrains from picking one side and shows the downfalls of both. It explores the dangers of being too angry and vengeance-seeking, as well as the dangers of being too passive. LaRusso’s children, Lawrence’s son, and their friends struggle to find a healthy balance between these opposing sides.
Cobra Kai released its 4th season on New Year’s Eve 2021 to a highly positive reception. The season welcomed back Karate Kid 3‘s infamous villain, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). Silver strikes up an alliance with John Kreese (Martin Kove) to combat Johnny and Daniel’s alliance against Cobra Kai. Silver’s villain has aged well and may have even proved himself more notorious than Kreese. Filled with plot twists, switches in allegiances, and a master evil plan from Silver, Cobra Kai‘s newest season seriously impressed.
When Will Cobra Kai Season 5 Hit Netflix
On May 5th, 2022, Netflix dropped Cobra Kai season 5’s trailer and announced the season will release on September 9th, 2022. This was a very pleasant surprise for many, considering we hadn’t expected the season to drop until closer to 2023.
After all, each season of Cobra Kai has been released at least one year apart since its inception. For example, Cobra Kai season 3 premiered on News Year’s Day 2021, and season 4 was released on New Years’ Eve of 2021. While seasons 1 and 2 were released in May, they were also released almost exactly a year apart. The only discrepancy in releasing schedules was between season 2 and season 3, due to covid-19 delays. Hence, we were really expecting to ring in 2023 with a new season of Cobra Kai. However, we don’t have to wait nearly that long as Cobra Kai season 5 is now just around the corner with its earlier than expected release date.
(featured image: Netflix)
