5 Potential Avenues For An Upcoming Cobra Kai Spinoff

Acting as a modern continuation of 1984 martial arts classic The Karate Kid, Cobra Kai is a coming of age drama series following the adult adventures of life-long karate rivals Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), as well as a new generation of young karate students.

Initially premiering as an original program on the YouTube Red streaming service, Cobra Kai has amassed an entirely new following since its recent move to Netflix. As Netflix prepares to release season 4 for a late 2021 release, the show creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg have passed around the idea of expanding the world of the series through spinoffs set within The Karate Kid universe. 

5. The Vintage Cobra Kai

Though Johnny may be busy going to war with his old sensei John Kreese, the other of Kreese's initial legacy are also operating the world as full-grown adults. Season 2 Episode 6 Take a Right gave established fans a taste of the original Cobra Kai responsible for antagonizing The Karate Kid himself Daniel LaRusso.

It was a welcome yet surprise for fans to catch up on the classic bullies, who have now become example citizens... for the most part. While the show emphasizes that the gang consisting of Bobby Brown, Tommy, and Jimmy (minus Dutch) have moved on from their Cobra Kai days, the karate still exists within each of them.

Now, that the group won't ever be officially complete due to the untimely death of Rob Garrison (Tommy) but a Cobra Kai Originals project which acts as a homage to the older generation can help hold fans over during the wait for an inevitable season 5 or 6. Whether taking place in the past or present, a spinoff series with the original group of Cobra Kai students would certainly build upon the past. 

4. Kreese's Early Days

John Kreese may have been the main antagonist of Cobra Kai for over two seasons, but his days in the spotlight are only getting started. Scattered throughout several episodes, Season 3 finally began to shed a light on Kreese's former days during the vicious Vietnam War and his own traumatic experiences, which led him to become the hardened karate sensei that exists in the present timeline.

However, John is not quite the fully formed man that would risk it all out of spite or send children to a household to incite violence, at least not at that point in time. A spinoff series dedicating time to Kreese's continued devolution from the state of the world around him would do wonders to help enrich John Kreese's character.

A villainous figure as evergreen as Kreese is going to need a bit of sympathy to their mission before the character ultimately embraces the evil. If Kreese doesn't receive his own standalone spinoff, the character may receive additional flashbacks, with the upcoming reintroduction of John's former war buddy and co-founder Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith).

3. Chozen's Karate Academy

Another fan favorite Karate Kid villain reintegrated into the Cobra Kai series was Chozen Toguchi (played by Yuji Okumoto). A former student of his uncle Sato Toguchi's dojo, Chozen became feared throughout the land for his brutal karate methods. However, after being beaten and humiliated by Nariyoshi Miyagi and his new American student Daniel LaRusso, Chozen reevaluated his life decisions and disappeared from the scene.

Season 3 of Cobra Kai devoted an entire episode of Daniel returning to Okinawa and mending fences with Chozen, who has amassed an entirely new attitude. Daniel's former Japanese lover Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) even made mention of the fact that Chozen is now teaching lessons at his own dojo... one that we will perhaps see in the future. We've seen plenty of karate that the West Valley has to offer but fans have yet to see karate fully explored in other corners of the globe, including modern-day Japan. 

2. Aisha's Newfound Residence (a.k.a. Cobra Academy)

Aisha Robinson (Nichole Brown), a central character to the events of the Cobra Kai storyline in seasons 1 and 2, was entirely absent from the third season. Whether it was a dispute with the actress or a natural decision made by the writers, the absence of this key member felt awfully abrupt. Yet, there is the hope of an Aisha return due to a mention of Robinson being placed in a private school by her parents.

Though, given Aisha's involvement in the monumental season 2 finale school fight, Aisha may need to stay where she is for the foreseeable future. Karate dojos are classic but a private school secretly brimming with karate students in training and Aisha or another as the head of the dojo would be interesting to change up the formula and focus on fewer students. 

1. The Beginnings of Miyagi Do Karate

All three seasons of the show have featured appearances from the ancient Miyagi Do Karate, in both the Miyagi and LaRusso era. While a full-length Miyagi series spinoff would be out of the question given Pat Morita's death, that doesn't mean the show cannot unveil the curtain on Miyagi's legacy in the form of Miyagi-Do Karate.

A far less violent and method of martial arts in comparison to its rival Cobra Kai, Daniel took up the reins and even passed his late sensei's teachings onto younger daughter Sam. Following Miyagi's death, it's assumed that Daniel takes a leave from the karate game and invests his entire stock into the car dealership business. It would be fascinating to see an adult Daniel in his prime all in on karate, prior to his reunion with Johnny and the brand new Cobra Kai. 

Wherever the creators decide to go for their Cobra Kai spinoffs, expect the karate to remain intact. Cobra Kai and the world of Karate Kid films (sans the 2010 remake) have done an accessible job of establishing the world and characters, which can show up at any moment. The most successful television spinoffs ranging from A Different World, The Jeffersons, Fraiser, and Better Call Saul only make their centerpiece series more of an enriching experience for the fans, as opposed to making the world smaller for a quick cash grab.