A third trailer has debuted for YouTube’s Karate Kid follow-up series Cobra Kai, and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) still has the moves. Daniel’s former rival Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) has become a sensei in the new series, we learned in a previous trailer. Cobra Kai picks up the story of Daniel and Johnny 30 years after the events of the beloved original Karate Kid, released in 1984.
A lot has happened since Daniel first learned the ways of karate from Mr. Miyagi (the late Pat Morita), and defeated bully Johnny by unleashing his iconic crane kick. Daniel, as you might have guessed, has settled down and become a successful professional and family man. However, Daniel has struggled to maintain balance since losing his beloved mentor. He doesn’t know whether to wax on or wax off. Johnny meanwhile has fallen on some hard times. The story centers on Johnny trying to get back on his feet by re-opening the Cobra Kai dojo, reviving his old rivalry with Daniel in the process.
Cobra Kai has released a third trailer focusing on Macchio’s Daniel. A lot may have changed for Macchio’s character since 1984, but Macchio himself barely seems to have aged. As we see in the clip, Daniel is not a fan of Johnny returning to revive Cobra Kai and reopen old wounds. See the trailer above.
“Cobra Kai back to the valley?” Daniel intones as the trailer begins. “Not on my watch.” And so Daniel begins training for what he apparently thinks is an inevitable showdown with Johnny. Cue the ’80s-style training montage? The trailer plays on nostalgia as you would expect. It even includes a scene of Daniel at a party, watching some guys come in wearing the skeleton Halloween costumes the Cobra Kai kids wore when they terrorized him in high school. This time thankfully Daniel isn’t dressed as a shower. Later, Johnny and Daniel meet up at Daniel’s car dealership. In front of his buddies, Daniel reminds Johnny of the time he crane-kicked him in the face.
Like the previous trailers for Cobra Kai, this one contains the direct original Karate Kid references you would expect. These somewhat obligatory nostalgic beats are fine, but for the new show to go over, it has to convince viewers they should still care about these older incarnations of Daniel and Johnny. Of course, the series also introduces some younger characters. Tanner Buchanan plays Robby Keene, Johnny’s troubled son. Mary Mouser plays Daniel’s daughter Samantha. And Xolo Mariduena plays Miguel, a bullied kid who goes to Johnny’s dojo to learn some moves. Johnny Lawrence as the new Miyagi?
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Cobra Kai debuts on YouTube Red some time in 2018.
Source: Cobra Kai
