When Netflix’s Cobra Kai finishes its sixth and final season next year, it’s unlikely to be the end for everyone. There is, of course, a Karate Kid movie on the horizon that’ll feature Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso, but the creators of Cobra Kai teased that in addition, they are already considering ways to keep the kicks and punches coming.
“The three of us would love to continue to work within this universe,” co-creator Josh Heald told io9. “It’s our favorite universe to play in and we have a lot of other ideas that are on our minds already that we’re starting to discuss with our partners.”
Speaking with io9, Heald and his co-creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg wouldn’t get into specifics, but the trio did clarify two things. One, any potential follow-ups will not make the journey of Cobra Kai less satisfying, and two, they are not speaking about the upcoming film.
“We achieved everything in this series that we set out to do,” Heald said. “And we were unapologetic in our drive and our goals to do some really, really big things as the sixth season winds down. We had so many balls in the air when we entered season six in terms of characters you care about, storylines that are in progress, and characters and storylines that we want to begin to tell because we’re always telling something new with a new season as well. And while landing all of those storylines and arcs, some of them will end neatly, some of them will inevitably not. And that was intentional in a way to definitely leave something on the table.”
“There’s always more on the table because each new season just creates new branches of that tree,” Heald continued. “And the three of us never stopped talking about, ‘Oh, you know what would be great if you do this?’ There’s always more to tell that you’ll be curious about.” But, again, that has nothing to do with the upcoming movie, which will co-star Macchio along with Jackie Chan as Mr. Han from the 2010 remake.
“Mr. Han is not part of our canon,” Heald said. “I think it’s more that Daniel is part of that canon. We’ve been telling our story the same way we’ve been telling it since season one. The feature team making this movie presents yet another opportunity for another filmmaker to come in and present their vision of a movie that takes place within a Karate Kid universe. This one happens to overlap with Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Han. But for us, it had no bearing on our story.”
So if it’s not that movie, what could it be? Could we follow some of the students to college? Will one of them become the next sensei of Miyagi-Do? Will we pick up with another karate dojo in the Valley? And will this be a show, movie, or something else entirely? Surely we’ll find out next year after Cobra Kai wraps up.
io9 will have much more from the Cobra Kai creators leading up to the first part of the sixth and final season, which debuts on Netflix July 18. Catch up here.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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