There was great care taken by the Cobra Kai showrunners to avoid any major contradictions in the canon between it and the upcoming 2025 movie, Karate Kid: Legends.
After dominating the hearts and minds of audiences in the mid-'80s with its 1984 original film, the world of The Karate Kid has continued to expand over the decades, with its latest (and possibly most successful) follow-up being the hit Cobra Kai Netflix series.
The hit TV series put the spotlight back on the cast of the original movie, telling the story of its karate-loving characters as they train the next generation of martial arts masters. With the franchise headed back to the big screen and Cobrai Kai having to come to an end, a new dawn for the beloved franchise looms on the horizon.
Karate Kid 2025 and Cobra Kai Canon Connections Explained
During an exclusive interview with The Direct's Russ Millheim, Cobra Kai showrunners Jon Hurwitz and Josh Heald addressed the considerations taken by the hit Netflix series to avoid contradictions with the upcoming 2025 film Karate Kid: Legends, as well as the canon connections between the two titles.
Hurwitz and Heald, who spoke with The Direct at the 52nd Saturn Awards in Los Angeles, California, revealed that the connective tissue between the Netflix series and the new movie was key in developing the show's last season.
The pair noted that Legends is a Karate Kid movie, while their show was Cobra Kai, being separate things with the "commonality [being that] they both have Daniel LaRusso:"
"Well, it's technically a 'Karate Kid' movie. You know, that's our show's 'Cobra Kai,' and the commonality is they both have Daniel LaRusso. That movie is kind of branching off the tree from the Jackie Chan movie of 2010, and you'll have to see how they tie those things together."
They said that they were "knee deep" in developing Cobra Kai Season 6 when they heard about Legends being made. So, they made sure "there were no contradictions" between the two projects:
"We were knee deep in making the final season of 'Cobra Kai' when we found out about that movie happening. And you know, we just wanted to make sure that there were no contradictions so that if fans watch it, they're like, whoa. 'Cobra Kai' said this, and this movie said that. And Ralph Machio made sure of that. You know, there was nothing like that."
And it seems that consideration between the two projects did not go one way, with the team behind Legends also keeping the Cobra Kai creators in mind when working on the upcoming film.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Karate Kid: Legends director Jonathan Entwistle revealed he was in communication with the team behind the hit Netflix series, calling the two projects a "part of one family:"
"I have been a huge fan of 'Cobra Kai' right from the beginning, and that's one of the reasons that I thought this was such an exciting project. I was excited about the idea that the films and the series can all be part of one family."
"I've had some really detailed conversations with the Cobra Kai team," he added, saying that he hopes the two properties feel "holistic" at the end of the day:
"I've had some really detailed conversations with the 'Cobra Kai' team about just cool stuff that we can do in the movie and can make this whole thing feel holistic. And obviously, Ralph is really, really close to it after all those years on 'Cobra Kai,' and they've been involved in little steps along the way."
Judging from these comments, it seems that the Cobra Kai showrunners and Karate Kid: Legends director made sure the Netflix show and 2025 movie can exist in the same canon, with the connective meat being Ralph Machio's Daniel LaRusso, while managing to tell their own story.
In fact, it looks as though Machio himself was the person on both sets making sure they did not step on each other's toes.
Seeing as Machio has been a part of nearly every Karate Kid project to date and was a member of the Cobra Kai cast right up until the end, it makes sense that he serves as the de facto keeper of the Karate Kid canon.
Some worried that this new movie would completely disregard the events of Cobra Kai (or exist in a canon entirely separate from it), but that does not seem to be the case.
It was previously revealed that Legends takes place three years after the events of Cobra Kai Season 6, allowing for some wiggle room between the two projects but still maintaining a holistic sense of continuity.
The full interview between The Direct and the Cobra Kai executives at the Saturn Awards can be seen here:
Karate Kid: Legends comes to theaters on May 30, and Cobra Kai is now streaming on Netflix in its entirety.
