Cobra Kai never dies ... at least in spirit. But the hit Netflix series will come to an end after Cobra Kai season 6.
Creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg announced the news in an open letter to fans.
"Our Day 1 goal with Cobra Kai has always been to end it on our terms, leaving the Valley in the time and place we’ve always imagined," they wrote.
"While this may be a bittersweet day for the fandom, the Miyagiverse has never been stronger… We hope to be telling more Karate Kid stories with you down the line because as we all know: Cobra Kai never dies."
That all but confirms more spinoffs set within the Karate Kid universe is forthcoming. As Schlossberg previously told TVLine, "Every permutation of spinoff or deep-dive crosses our minds. It all has to be the right thing, and it has to be the same level of quality that Cobra Kai is."
Cobra Kai has been a huge hit for Netflix since it moved from YouTube Red to Netflix in August 2020. The show follows former teen enemies Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) a few decades after their infamous martial arts battle in the first Karate Kid movie.
Older, though not necessarily wiser, their rivalry is revived when Johnny re-opens his old Cobra Kai dojo to teach a new generation of students. Daniel restarts Miyagi-do in response, and their pupils clashed on the mat and at school.
Over the course of several seasons, their longtime feud gradually turns into a quasi-friendship as they face more sadistic villains: Johnny's old sensei John Kreese and the business mogul Terry Silver.
In season 6, they will team up once again to tackle a new challenge: the international competition Sekai Taikai.
The creators are teasing that the final chapter is "the BIGGEST SEASON OF COBRA KAI YET." It should feature all the main players, as likely more cameos from the Karate Kid movies. Each successive season has brought in familiar faces, including Elisabeth Shue as Ali Mills, Yuji Okumoto as Chozen, Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver and Sean Kanan as Mike Barnes.
Many fans are hoping for a significant guest star: Hilary Swank, who headlined The Next Karate Kid. In an interview with Fandom, Hurwitz said, "All we can say about her is we love Hilary Swank. We think she's a phenomenal actress and we love her character in this franchise. She was taught by Mr. Miyagi and she's somebody who is important to the Karate Kid universe. We can't say if she'll return, we can't say how she'd return if she was going to return."
