YouTube Red has released the first teaser trailer for Cobra Kai, the television sequel to The Karate Kid, featuring original stars Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence.
The trailer begins with voiceovers from LaRusso and Lawrence, as they list the pros and cons of the Cobra Kai dojo’s revival. We also see memories of the past, including newspaper clippings of LaRusso’s stunning upset in the All-Valley Karate Tournament, Lawrence on a Cobra Kai flyer encouraging sign-ups, and young men and women undergoing karate training.
We’re reminded that some rivalries never end, as we get our first glimpse at a much older LaRusso and Lawrence, with the former promising that what’s happened between them isn’t done yet.
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The project hails from Will Smith’s Sony Pictures Television Studios-based Overbrook Entertainment. Josh Heald (Hot Tub Time Machine) and Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold and Kumar) will write and executive produce Cobra Kai. Macchio and Zabka are also on board as executive producers.
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Released in 1984, The Karate Kid told the story of high-school senior Daniel LaRusso, who moves with his mother from New Jersey to Los Angeles, where he almost immediately comes into conflict with Johnny, the top student at the unscrupulous Cobra Kai dojo, and his gang. Under the tutelage of their apartment complex’s eccentric maintenance man Mr. Miyagi, Daniel learns about karate, and life, and ultimately faces and defeats Johnny in the All Valley Karate Tournament. The film inspired three sequels and a remake.
Cobra Kai will debut later this year on YouTube Red.