The creators of Cobra Kai are diving deep into some of your favorite characters and the direction they want to see the series go in for season 4.
Cobra Kai has become a huge phenomenon since its debut in 2018. The sequel series to the Karate Kid film series has captivated viewers of all ages due to its amazing stories, characters, and action scenes.
Season 3 of Cobra Kai was watched by more than 40 million households, making it one of Netflix’s biggest programs on the streaming service.
The creators of Cobra Kai, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, talked with Benny Adams about the journeys some of your favorite characters went through this season and what’s in store for season 4.
At the beginning of this season, we see Johnny Lawerence in a tough place due to the events that happened last season. Not only did he lose his dojo and his students to his mentor John Kreese; but he also must pick up the pieces when it comes to his relationships with Miguel and Robby.
“I think what Johnny needed to learn in season 3 is even if you try to do something right, and it doesn’t work out, that doesn’t mean you stop doing something right. He’s trying to help both Miguel and Robby. I think it’s a little tougher for Robby because he wasn’t there for him, and I think he’s got a bigger bridge to cross with Robby. Whereas picking it up with Miguel in season 3, they are on the outs at the beginning of the season. Our hope is that people see that Miguel and Robbie are kind of like Johnny and Daniel in different ways.” Said Schlossberg
Another character the show dives into this season is Jon Kreese. Viewers were taken by surprise when they were able to see Kreese’s backstory and learn he wasn’t always the bad guy we’ve all come to know.
“We love peeling back the layers on any character on this show and not writing distinct antagonists. We really like writing about a lot of people who can be the hero of their own journey. Kreese is a tough one to crack in the beginning. He’s a guy that we’ve only seen as bad and negative in the movies. Entering season 3, we wanted to continue to peel back the layers of Kreese and finally get to an explanation and understanding of how somebody comes up with no mercy.” explained Heald. “It wasn’t our intent to say once you understand this, you’re going to love Kreese, and he’ll be the hero, but it is to say everybody’s life experience has led them to a point, and for Kreese, it was the trauma of going to war and meeting the mentor that was provided to him. This season also provided additional stakes that Kreese is capable of killing, and when push comes to shove, no mercy felt like it took over everything else. It got in the way of his empathy for his mentor back in the war.”
The fighting scenes in Cobra Kai are always a must watch, and season 3 was no exception. The action sequences continued to push the envelope. Hurwitz says a lot of thought and preparation happens before a fight scene is decided.
“We always say we don’t want a fight scene for the sake of having a fight scene. It always needs to come from a natural conflict between characters. When we did shoot the high school fighting scene in season 2, we did ask ourselves how are we going to top that? Entering season 3, I think we had set ourselves up that we saw potential for the conflict between the teenagers, and I think we knew we wanted to have another large scale between the characters.” said Hurwitz.
Now that season three is over, many are wondering what’s next for our Cobra Kai Heroes. Heald, Hurwitz, and Schlossberg stayed tight-lipped on any spoilers revolving around next season but did explain the direction they want to see season 4 go in.
“Every season is different but the same. I think that we want to not lose touch with why we made this show in the first place, so you can count on the original themes and feels of The Karate Kid. I would say coming off of season 3, each season is building and building, and we want to make sure we’re not losing touch with the heart of the story. We’re excited that Johnny and Daniel aren’t together at the end of the season because you just see all the potential conflict and comedy you can see that could come from that. Explained Schlossberg. “The Beginning of season 3, we had them all separated and all in a depressed emotional state. Now at the start of season 4, it’s like, game on. I think season 3 started from an emotional place and built to where it ended. I think season 4 starts with the tournament is coming, and we all have to be ready for this.”
Not only is season 4 in the works, but the franchise might be getting a little bigger with potential spin-offs. While nothing is confirmed, Heald says they have ideas.
“We have a lot of spin-offs in mind that we want to work on. We look at this franchise as somebody might look at Marvel or the Star Wars Universe. We have ideas that are big in scope, we have ideas that are more dramatic and comedic, we have ideas that are not necessarily live action, and we’re discussing a lot of different ones with our various partners at Sony and Netflix.”
You can catch the full interview with Heald, Hurwitz, and Schlossberg below.
