There’s an old saying in karate circles that roughly translates to, “No matter how achingly beautiful your crane kicks are, time eventually catches up with us all.” Not even Daniel LaRusso, nor his nemesis Johnny Lawrence can punch their way out of the inevitable decline of aging. But thankfully, for those wondering just what the process of becoming decrepit old men would look like for the stars of the 1984 classic The Karate Kid, a new, 10-episode comedy series titled Cobra Kai will drop on YouTube Red next year, THR reports.
Cobra Kai will bring back lead actors Ralph Macchio and William Zabka to reprise their iconic roles, and presumably to kick each other repeatedly. It’s been 30 in-universe years since the two last sparred, and time has not been kind to them. LaRusso has been successful enough, but has felt his life losing balance after the loss of his mentor, Mr. Miyagi. Conversely, Lawrence decides to reopen the Cobra Kai dojo for a chance at redemption and as a pretty low-key way to spend his midlife crisis.
Josh Heald (Hot Tub Time Machine) alongside Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold and Kumar) will write the script, and released a joint statement detailing what we can expect from the show:
Like everyone who grew up in the 1980s, the three of us are enormous fans of The Karate Kid?. Cobra Kai? will be a true continuation of the original films — packed with comedy, heart and thrilling fight scenes. We can’t wait to reignite the LaRusso-Lawrence rivalry, and we’re thankful to our partners at YouTube Red, Sony Pictures Television and Overbrook for their shared enthusiasm in making our dream project a reality.
Below is a little preview footage of what we expect the show to be like.