“It ends in a way that has all those ’80s movie feels and cheers and tears, and yet sees it through a ‘Cobra Kai’ kind of lens,” Ralph Macchio recently revealed to The New York Times about the end of "Cobra Kai," the long-running Netflix hit that continued the storylines from the star's blockbuster breakthrough, 1984's "The Karate Kid."
The "Cobra Kai" chapter of the story is set to come to a close when the third and final installment of the show's sixth season hits the streamer on Thursday, Feb. 13, wrapping up all of the dojo drama of Macchio's Daniel LaRusso, William Zabka's Johnny Lawrence and the rest of Team Miyagi-Do. But the lead actor also suggested that there might be even more high-kicking "Cobra Kai" hijinks beyond that impending series finale.
When asked by the Times whether he would be open to more "Karate Kid" spinoffs in the future, Macchio joked: "Listen, I said it was the end for me when I got done with the last 1980s 'Karate Kid' movie. So I will say never say never."
He added that if the upcoming "Karate Kid: Legends" film does well at the box office, he'd love to see a "Cobra Kai" movie "in two or three years."
"As long as there’s a way to be truthful to the characters, to propel a story in a way that opens it up to generations, it’s something I’d be open to having a conversation about."
Outside of six seasons of "Cobra Kai," Macchio has portrayed Daniel LaRusso in three "Karate Kid" films thus far and will reprise his most famous role for a fourth time on the big screen in "Karate Kid: Legends," which will hit theaters on Friday, May 30. (Set three years after the action of "Cobra Kai," the "Legends" film will also see the return of martial-arts icon Jackie Chan as Mr. Han, a character from the 2010 “Karate Kid” film.)
The actor shared with the outlet how it feels to have continued the "Karate Kid" franchise across both films and a TV spinoff these past four decades. "I’m feeling great, because when does this happen? A show based on a movie from 34 years prior creating a new fandom and new generations of fans around a franchise," Macchio said. "It feels like it’s landing at the right time and not overstaying its welcome. I’m excited for fans around the world to see Johnny and Daniel and all the characters come in for a landing."
We'll see how things wrap up for Macchio's character, as well as his Miyagi-Do brethren, when part three of "Cobra Kai" season 6 hits Netflix on Feb. 13. Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all updates surrounding the next installment of "Cobra Kai," including behind-the-scenes tidbits, casting intel, character descriptions and showrunner insights. In the meantime, you can revisit the first five seasons of the martial arts comedy-drama, as well as the past 10 episodes of season 6, right now with a Netflix subscription.
