Cobra Kai Season 6 Showrunner Addresses Villainous Dojo’s Status After Terry Silver
Summary
Cobra Kaistars William Zabka and Yuji Okumoto address the closure of their former villains, now heroes, in season 6. Set to release on Netflix in three parts, with the first five episodes debuting on July 18,Cobra Kaiseason 6will see Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence and Okumoto’s Chozen Toguchi work together with former rival Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) to prepare for the all-important Sekai Taikai tournament. It shows that all three have come a long way since theKarate Kidmovies.
In an interview withScreen Rant’s Grant Hermanns, Zabka and Okumoto talked about how the upcoming episodes offer closure to the former villains. Zabka spoke about how it felt to be seen as an antagonist for some three decades, and how that has changed since theNetflix series made significant strides in humanizing Johnny. For his part, Okumoto sharedhis reaction to how Chozen has evolvedcompared to his movie portrayal. Read their quotes below:
William Zabka: First of all, that this ever happened feels amazing. Yeah, we carried the torch of being the villains for 30-some years, so the fact that we had the opportunity to play these characters again and give them some humanity and depth and color and see through their eyes, all that, has just been a thrill. But we’re excited about season 6, and we feel like the resolve and where this all lands is going to be crowdpleasing, and certainly was pleasing, as an actor, to play. It’s a great close to this chapter of this story, and yeah, it feels good to have some people on your side. [Laughs]
Yuji Okumoto: For sure, saying goodbye is always tough, isn’t it? When I was brought on to Cobra Kai season 3, it was really amazing, because the writers did such a wonderful job in kind of flipping the script and humanizing Chozen, and bringing humor, and not losing that sense of the bada–ness that he brought in the whole Karate Kid stuff. So, when I was brought in for season 3, it was like, “Wow, this is amazing.” And to be able to work again with Ralph and with Tamlyn Tomita, who plays Kumiko, was such a joy. And I think it’s hats off to the writers, because it’s thanks to them for understanding how you’ve got to evolve and change, and I think it was a blessing for me.
Cobra Kai’s Redemption Of Villains Is The Show’s Greatest Strength
It’s Part Of The Show’s DNA
The Emmy-nominated series complicates that binary even further, pretty much standing on the line that every character has a level of ambiguity and the ability to do right and wrong.
Part of what made the reboot distinctive, and arguably what helped it to succeed on its own terms, was that itwasn’t interested in merely rehashingtheKarate Kidfilms. The spinoff, from creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg, flips the script. Those early episodes are not afraid to paint the formerly heroic Daniel LaRusso in a strikingly less sympathetic light while giving Daniel a comparatively more supportive depiction.
The Emmy-nominated series complicates that binary even further, pretty much standing on the line that every character has a level of ambiguity and the ability to do right and wrong. That open-minded approach totheCobra Kaicasthas meant that just about every character, no matter if main, supporting, or, at times, even guest-starring, gets their time and focus. It’s true ofOkumoto as Chozen, who has emerged as a surprisingly funny recurring presence.
Cobra Kai Season 6 Teases The Karate Kid Legacy Fight We’ve Been Waiting 6 Years For
Cobra Kai Season 6 has teased a highly anticipated fight between two legacy characters that audiences have been looking forward to for six years.
After the eventfulCobra Kaiseason 5 ending, the question may indeed be whether John Kreese (Martin Kove) will ever be fully redeemed or if he’ll stand out as the most prominent exception to the series' general rule. But even in the case of Kreese, there has been plenty to back up the fact that he’s not just the one-note bad guy that viewers might see him as.
Cobra Kai
Cast
Cobra Kai is a sequel series continuing the narrative of the Karate Kid saga, set 30 years after the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament. It focuses on Johnny Lawrence seeking redemption by reopening the Cobra Kai dojo, reigniting his rivalry with Daniel LaRusso, who strives to maintain balance in his life.
