Cobra Kai never dies, but those hopes for Julie Pierce’s return sure have. Oscar-winning actressHilary Swank(who co-stars withReacher’s Alan Ritchson in the new film,Ordinary Angels) was rumored to be reprising her role as Mr. Miyagi’s (Pat Morita) other star student in the sixth and final season ofCobra Kai. The streaming series’ co-creator, Jon Hurwitz, teased the character’s possible return on X, formerly Twitter, in early January in response to a post featuring a picture of Miyagi and Julie fromThe Next Karate Kid(1994). Hurwitz wrote:
“I can’t promise the hawk or any Oscar winners in this photo — I will never give potential spoilers — but rest assured we’ll have at least one character from the Karate Kid films return that hasn’t yet appeared on Cobra Kai #CobraKai #Netflix”
Check out Hurwitz’s X post in its entirety below:
WhileThe Next Karate Kidis by far and away the least successful of the originalKarate Kidmovies, fans were unquestionably curious to finally see Julie Pierce and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) interact with one another. And with John Kreese’s (Martin Kove) escape during the season five finale, we thought it would likely take the combined efforts of both Mr. Miyagi’s apprentices to defeat the king cobra. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case, withColliderasking Swank if she’s in the sixth and final season ofCobra Kai:
I don’t think I am, unfortunately. I know. It’s, like, the number one question I get right now. Most people usually say, ‘What’s it like working with Clint Eastwood?’ But I think, ‘Are you going to be onCobra Kaihas almost surpassed that?’
“Is there a newKarate Kidbeing made? What are they calling it?” Swank asked nonchalantly. “Because I wasThe Next Karate Kid.” Unfortunately, she won’t be the next karate kid in the upcoming film.
Related:Cobra Kai: 10 Things the TV Show Did Better Than The Karate Kid Movies
Cobrai Kai Moving Forward
Cobra Kaiseason five ended with Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) being arrested after two seasons of treachery. If Kreese (Kove) manages to spring Silver from jail, especially withthe arrival of Master Kim Sun-Yung, then Daniel LaRusso and his former enemy-turned-friend, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), are going to need all the help they can get to defeat the three deadliest members of The Way of the Fist.
At the conclusion of season five, it took the combined efforts of Daniel, Johnny, Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto) and Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) — not to mention all the karate students — to finally defeat Terry Silver and his plans to spread Cobra Kai not only through the Valley, but around the world.
Hopefully,Karate Kidstaples like Chozen, Mike and Kumiko(Tamlyn Tomita) will all return again, so that the sixth season swan song will wrap up all of these iconic characters’ storylines in a way that pleases the fanbase. At the time of this writing, there’s not an official release date forCobra Kaiseason six.However, it’s likely the streaming series will return near the end of 2024. And if you’re a fan of the series, check out some fun facts about the show below:
