'Karate Kid' sequel series: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka reunite in BTS photo
Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) are back!
In the exclusive behind-the-scenes photo above, The Karate Kid arch-rivals are all smiles as they reunite on the Atlanta set of Cobra Kai, YouTube Red’s forthcoming sequel series to the 1984 film. The show will see Macchio and Zabka reprising their iconic roles.
EW can also exclusively reveal that the series will also star Xolo Maridueña (Parenthood), Mary Mouser (Freakish), Tanner Buchanan (Designated Survivor), and Courtney Henggeler (Mom), along with guest-star Ed Asner.
Picking up 30 years after the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, the half-hour series finds Daniel and Johnny at different places in their lives. Whereas Daniel is living his best life as a family man and proud owner of the No. 1 car dealership in the Valley, Johnny has fallen a long way since the ’80s and is now a heavy drinking, short-fused antihero living in Reseda, doing odd jobs to make ends meet. However, their rivalry is reignited when they re-enter each other’s lives, which drives Johnny to rediscover his Cobra Kai roots and reopen the infamous karate dojo.
Henggeler will play Daniel’s wife and business partner Amanda, the glue that keeps the LaRusso household and dealership running, and a calming force in Daniel’s life. Mouser stars as Samantha, Daniel and Amanda’s firecracker daughter who is learning to navigate the minefield that is high school, straddling the “good girl” and popular teen cliques.
Maridueña takes on the role of Miguel Diaz. Raised by a single mother from Ecuador, Miguel struggles with bullies at his new school, until he’s taken under the wing of a Cobra Kai karate master.
Buchanan is Johnny’s street-smart son Robby Keene. Robby is eager to prove he’s nothing like his dad, even though he’s on his way to making the same mistakes.
Finally, Asner will guest as Johnny’s reluctant stepfather Sid Weinberg, an old-school, hard-nosed, former studio mogul, who is tired of dealing with his stepson’s failures.
Cobra Kai is written and executive produced by Hot Tub Time Machine‘s Josh Heald and Harold and Kumar film series creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, both of whom are expected to direct much of the series, which is produced by Overbrook Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures Television.
The 10-episode series is expected to debut on YouTube Red in 2018.
