The two-time Oscar winner got her big break in the Karate Kid franchise.

By David Craig

Published: Saturday, 20 July 2024 at 11:43 AM


Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio has addressed rumours of a cameo for The Next Karate Kid star Hilary Swank in the final season of the Netflix series.

Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso served as the young protagonist of the first three Karate Kid films, before passing the torch to Swank’s Julie Pierce, who was again trained by Pat Morita’s Mr Miyagi.

Alas, The Next Karate Kid fared much worse critically and commercially than the original films, effectively leaving the franchise dormant until 2010’s soft reboot with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan.

Nevertheless, fans of the so-called Miyagi-verse have expressed interest in seeing Swank get another chance at the role, especially considering the teen idol went on to win two Academy Awards for her work in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby.

Quizzed by Entertainment Tonight on whether there are any surprise cameos from the wider Karate Kid franchise in Cobra Kai season 6, Macchio teased: “I can’t mention names but there might be one or two.”

He continued: “There are some [people] that have shown up in a smaller capacity that I would like to see in a larger capacity.”

And when questioned on whether he had wanted Swank to be one of those cameos, Macchio added: “Who doesn’t, you know? And that’s the one piece that would be interesting, you know?”

Daniel, Johnny and Chozen in white karate gi in the garden of Daniel's dojo
(L-R) Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and Yuji Okumoto in Cobra Kai.
Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix

Rumours of a cameo for Swank began to swirl last year, when Cobra Kai co-creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg admitted (via Deadline) that they were “fans” of the actor and reiterated that “anyone from the Miyagi-verse could potentially be in the final season”.

Cobra Kai season 6 sees the students of Miyagi-Do head to the prestigious international karate tournament known as the Sekai Taikai, where they will face some of the toughest opponents they have ever encountered.

In addition to Macchio and his Karate Kid co-star William Zabka, the Cobra Kai cast also features Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Peyton List and Tanner Buchanan.

Cobra Kai season 6 part 1 is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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