5+1 facts you probably didn’t know about Cobra Kai
Here are some stories behind the much-loved series
It’s hard enough not to get carried away with what’s going on in Cobra Kai. From the 1st to the 4th season, the series has been on an upward trajectory and it is no coincidence that it has been loved by the world. Credit goes solely to the three showrunners, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who approached the legacy of The Karate Kid and Mr. Miyagi, with utmost respect and artistic care, making Cobra Kai a worthy sequel to the films.
On the occasion of the return of the series and the premiere of the 5th season on Netflix, we present you some interesting facts.
The series features unreleased footage from ’84’s Karate Kid
The first episode of Cobra Kai begins with a flashback to the final minutes of the All-Valley Karate Tournament. The scene looks different from the one we saw in the 1984 film. The film’s director John G. Avildsen spent hours behind the cameras and monitors shooting this particular fight scene, but also other scenes in the film from different angles, with as a result, many of the shots he took were never used. The showrunners of the series managed to find the unreleased footage and added it in a completely organic way at various times within the episodes.
Bill Conti’s theme music from the first film has been used
Something similar happened with Bill Conti’s compositions. Known for his motivational tunes, his music perfectly accompanies the scenes set in the first film, enhancing its most emotional moments. The creators of the series very cleverly use some of these familiar tunes to our ears, making the nostalgia factor reach the highest levels.
William Zabka broke one of his toes on set
One of the standout features of Cobra Kai is the excellent fight scenes between rival dojos. This shows, if nothing else, the dedication that exists from the actors to this particular part of the series. Of course, serious injuries also arise through hard training. So William Zabka, in one of the rehearsals with the other actors, felt one of his toes break. According to him, he sat on the side for a while and continued filming.
Several of the actors in the series are also professional dancers
It is no coincidence that the battle scenes we mentioned above are among the features that stand out in the series. Despite the fact that almost everyone from the main cast participates in such scenes, most of them did not have much to do with martial arts. One of the important criteria of the casting directors was to find actors with previous experience in professional dance. This decision paid off by giving us some remarkable fight choreography.
William Zabka and Ralph Macchio are friends in real life
Zabka and Macchio’s chemistry is more than evident in every scene they share the screen with. After all, these two are the heart of the show. The truth is that in real life they have become quite close developing a meaningful friendship. Although they have always been on good terms, the death of the sweet Pat Morita in 2005 caused a strong bond to be created between them.
There is a video game based on the series
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues. This is the title of the game based on the Netflix series. The game was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 27, 2020, and for Microsoft Windows on January 5, 2021. Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Jacob Bertrand, and Gianni DeCenzo reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence, Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz and Demetri Alexopoulos respectively, while the rest of the characters are played by different actors.
