Amongst all the renewals and nostalgia shows, Cobra Kai has topped the list, as it respects the lore and adds new stories to the universe. It is based on the Miyagi-verse, which means we won’t see Jaden Smith in the show anytime soon.
Cobra Kai saw the return of famous Karate Kid rivals, William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence and Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in season 1. But unlike the movie, the show has subverted the narrative, showing Johnny as the underdog and making the conflict far more complex and gray.
Hilary Swank in Karate Kid
The Next Karate Kid became the first film to not feature Daniel LaRusso as we saw Mr. Miyagi travel to Boston for a commendation of Japanese-Americans who fought in World War 2. There he meets Julie Pierce played by Hilary Swank, the daughter of his commanding officer, Jack.
Seeing her struggle, he takes Julie under his wing and teaches her Karate to help her cope with her anger issues. Despite the strong performance of Pat Morita, many felt the installment was unnecessary and had very little to offer, scoring a measly 7% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Will Julie Pierce appear in Cobra Kai?
We have already seen many characters from most Karate Kid films return to star in the show, so many have asked the question, will Hilary Swank join the cast? While speaking to CinemaBlend in 2020, writers of Cobra Kai noted:
“In our writers’ room we speak about literally every character that has appeared in the Miyagi-verse, so it’s obvious that we’ve spoken about Julie Pierce. As to whether or not she’ll return to the series, that’s something you’ll just have to wait to find out.”
Hilary Swank has also been bombarded with questions about her potential team-up in the show. As reported by People, Hilary Swank revealed she has not been approached to join the cast, though didn’t indicate if she would join if asked. She said:
“I’m not in Cobra Kai, no one’s asked me to be in Cobra Kai. A lot of people ask if I’m going to be on it, it’s like, the No. 1 question I get. No one’s called me! But it’s so funny, isn’t it, that’s the one thing I get asked the most and no one’s called me.”
Considering she’s already a part of the Miyagi-verse, it’s not farfetched to see her join. Furthermore, the show has already burned most of the cast through the three films, while also bringing Thomas Ian Griffith out of retirement, so it’s natural to expect she would join in the next season of Cobra Kai.
Cobra Kai season 5 is now streaming on Netflix.
Source: ScreenRant
