The Karate Kid is getting a reboot as comedy series.
Cobra Kai, an upcoming series for YouTube Red, will feature original star Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso once again, and he’ll be joined by infamous bully Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Though, in recent years, theories have circulated that the real villain in The Karate Kid was actually Daniel.
The 10-episode series is being positioned as a comedy, and finds Johnny re-opening the Cobra Kai Dojo 30 years and some hard times later. You know who’s not doing so bad? Daniel, apparently, though he is a bit lost without Mr. Miyagi. The series will reacquaint us with the two, who might be friends now. At the end of the original Karate Kid, Johnny does congratulate Daniel on winning the fight, and Daniel’s just like, “Whooooo!” Maybe the series will explore that villain theory.
Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, and AMC apparently all put in bids for the series before it landed at YouTube Red, which hasn’t had a real runaway success yet. Hot Tub Time Machine‘s Josh Heald will write the script with Harold and Kumar‘s Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who said in a statement that “Cobra Kai will be a true continuation of the original films—packed with comedy, heart, and thrilling fight scenes.”
The series is set to debut in 2018.