Cobra Kai season 4 is roundhouse kicking back onto the screen by the end of the year. The Karate Kid sequel series has finished filming its fourth season and Netflix already announced new episodes will premiere in late 2021. To celebrate the end of production, Cobra Kai cast members William Zabka and Ralph Macchio shared photos on social media.
Cobra Kai is one of Netflix’s most popular shows. It follows former Karate Kid rivals Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso almost 30 years after the events of the first film. Now, they’re all grown up with kids of their own, but their rivalry reignites when Johnny reopens the Cobra Kai dojo and begins teaching new karate students of the next generation.
The Cobra Kai season 3 finale ends with Daniel and Johnny putting aside their longtime feud and teaming up to take on Johnny’s ex-mentor, the sadistic John Kreese (Martin Kove). They merge their dueling dojos, Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang, to take on Cobra Kai at the All Valley Karate Tournament.
If Daniel and Johnny’s students win, Kreese will leave for good. But Kreese always has a few dirty tricks up his sleeves; this time, he may be calling in an old, even nastier pal who is familiar to anyone who’s seen Karate Kid Part III.
Here’s everything we know so far about Cobra Kai season 4.
Cobra Kai season 4 latest news (updated May 10)
- Stars William Zabka and Ralph Macchio shared photos to mark the end of filming.
- Co-creator Jon Hurwitz and star Martin Kove both revealed that Cobra Kai season 4 wrapped filming.
- Hurwitz replied to a fan’s question on Twitter about how the show will address the coronavirus pandemic.
Cobra Kai season 4 release date
Netflix has not set a release date for Cobra Kai season 4 yet, but Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told investors that it will premiere in Q4 2021.
In October, showrunner Jon Hurwitz revealed on Twitter that the writers had completed all the scripts for season 4.
Now that filming has finished, Cobra Kai isn’t the kind of show that needs a ton of special effects in post-production, so season 4 can turn around quickly and be ready to premiere in October, November or December 2021.
Cobra Kai season 4 filming wraps
Cobra Kai season 4 filming has wrapped, after starting in January. Co-creator Jon Hurwitz announced the news on Twitter.
Cobra Kai cast members also celebrated the end of filming on social media. Star William Zabka shared a photo of himself wearing a face mask and preparing for a karate action scene:
Co-star Ralph Macchio posted a note online about the production wrap that recalled how the Cobra Kai journey started three years ago.
Martin Kove, who plays John Kreese, also marked the occasion with an Instagram post. In his caption, he wrote, “What a season, And what a year. A crew that is fearless and shows no mercy, through Covid we pushed on, we striked first and with a cast that strikes hard!”
Cobra Kai season 4 cast
The cast of Cobra Kai season 4 will continue to be headlined by William Zabka as Johnny and Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso.
Also returning is Martin Kove as John Kreese and the students of the rival dojos:
- Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz
- Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso, Daniel’s daughter
- Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene, Johnny’s son)
- Jacob Bertrand as Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz
- Peyton List as Tory Nichols
- Gianni Decenzo as Demetri
Courtney Henggeler as Amanda LaRusso (Daniel’s wife) and Vanessa Rubio as Carmen Diaz (Miguel’s mother) will both be back as well.
Based on events from the finale, we may see Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver, the main villain from the Karate Kid Part III movie. He may be joined by Sean Kanan as karate bad boy Mike Barnes. More on that below.
Season 3 cast members that are not expected to return include Yuji Okumoto as Chozen and Tamlyn Tomita as Kumiko, whom Daniel reunited with on his Okinawa trip. It’s also unlikely that Elisabeth Shue reprises her role as Ali, the former love interest of Johnny and Daniel who popped up to visit for the holidays.
Netflix announced two new cast members for Season 4 on Twitter. Dallas Dupree Young (Cousins for Life, Shameless) will be playing Kenny, a bullied new kid in school who turns to karate as a way to defend himself. And Oona O’Brien (Annie, School of Rock) is Devon, a potential new karate student who is relentlessly competitive, a quick study, and equally quick-tempered when she’s provoked.
Recently, Cobra Kai cast members have weighed in on the possibility of Aisha’s character (who wasn’t in season 3) returning for season 4. Cobra Kai co-creator Hayden Schlossberg didn’t confirm a return, but his words give hope: “What we will say is, as you’ve seen in season three, characters who maybe you thought were no longer a part of the story, do come back and play a role. Just using [Kyler] as an example. And so, people who want to see Aisha again, I think that’s how we would respond to that, without giving anything away.”
Cobra Kai season 4 set photos: Episode 1 title, ice rink and more
On Feb. 26, Cobra Kai’s official Twitter account released the first set photo from season 4, which didn’t reveal much. But hey, we’ll take what we can get. The image teases the first episode, which is titled “Let’s Begin.”
Some leaked set photos also emerged on Reddit, that seem to show Daniel and Johnny at an ice rink. Is Cobra Kai getting all Mighty Ducks on us?
Leaked set photos from season 4 at an ice rink from r/cobrakai
Cobra Kai season 4 theories and spoilers
Season 3 ended with another all-out brawl, this time pitting Cobra Kai students against their former friends (now part of Eagle Fang dojo) and members of Miyagi-do. And it took place in the LaRusso home!
Johnny, then Daniel confronted John Kreese at Cobra Kai dojo, threatening to do whatever it took to stop him. Kreese offered them a deal: He would leave town if they won the reinstated All Valley Tournament. The next day, Johnny and Daniel teamed up to start training the students of their merged dojos.
Cobra Kai season 4 should focus heavily on the upcoming competition at the All Valley Tournament.
As for other storylines in Cobra Kai season 4, we expect more love triangle drama from Samantha, Miguel and Robby. Plus, there might be some more movement in Johnny’s romance with Miguel’s mom, Carmen.
Co-creator Jon Hurwitz recently took to Twitter to tease some emotional scenes in the next batch of episodes. Fans should get ready to laugh AND cry.
Hurwitz also clarified whether the show will address coronavirus, which was a question from a fan on Twitter. Since the show takes place in 2018 and 2019, it will not incorporate the pandemic.
Cobra Kai season 4 Terry Silver rumors
At the end of the season 3 finale, Kreese placed a phone call to someone — likely his old Vietnam buddy Terry Silver (season 3 featured flashbacks to their time as POWs). Terry is a wealthy business who funded Cobra Kai. He was the main villain in Karate Kid Part III, in which he bankrolls “karate bad boy” Mike Barnes at the All Valley Tournament to get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.
We have not seen confirmation that Silver will be back, and show-runners Josh Heald and Jon Hurwitz previously denied rumors that Thomas Ian Griffith had previously declined to be in the series.
This has led to a lot of speculation that Terry will be back to team up with Kreese again, putting Johnny and Daniel’s precarious alliance to the test. And Mike may return for a cameo as well.
Terry’s return would make a ton of sense. Cobra Kai has been incorporating aspects of the movies more and more. Season 3 featured appearances by Karate Kid Part II characters Kumiko and Chozen, as well as a major cameo by Ali (Daniel and Johnny’s love interest in the first film). Maybe season 5 will bring back Hilary Swank from The Next Karate Kid?
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