YouTube Chad McQueen plays Dutch in 'The Karate Kid.'
The acclaimed series “Cobra Kai” has featured quite a few characters from the original “Karate Kid” movies. However, Chad McQueen, who played ruthless Cobra Kai student Dutch in the first film, has not yet joined the “Cobra Kai” cast.
As fans are aware, Dutch exhibits a merciless attitude and encourages Johnny Lawrence (William “Billy” Zabka) to brutally beat up Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) during the night of the Halloween dance. The character also mocks and threatens the New Jersey native before the All Valley Tournament. During the second season of “Cobra Kai,” it is revealed that Dutch has been serving time in prison.
While speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2019, one of the show’s creators and executive producers, Josh Heald, revealed that the writers wanted to include Dutch in “Cobra Kai.” He explained that they had contacted McQueen to reprise his role. Heald told the publication:
Schedules were such that it wasn’t feasible for him to join us this time around, but we certainly mentioned his character being alive and in a very particular place on purpose. We could perhaps visit that story another time.
Chad McQueen’s Daughter Madison Addressed “Cobra Kai” Fans on Instagram
While Heald appeared to be suggesting that McQueen may eventually return to the “Karate Kid” franchise, it does not seem likely that fans will see Dutch anytime soon. McQueen’s daughter Madison, who manages the official social media accounts of his company, McQueen Racing, took to Instagram to address “Cobra Kai” fans. The post, which was uploaded on June 11, included three photos of McQueen playing Dutch in “The Karate Kid.”
“We appreciate every single one of you die hard cobra Kai fans!! We read and love all of your kind words. Dutch will not be making an appearance in the Netflix series – @madi_mcqueen,” read a portion of the post’s caption.
Quite a few fans flocked to the comments section to react to the news that McQueen has decided not to be on “Cobra Kai.”
“Awww I completely understand! People have other things in their lives! Sad that we won’t get to see him though,” wrote one commenter.
“Dutch was an excellent character. I wanted to see you on the series, Chad, but I understand. You’re amazing!” added another Instagram user, followed by a string of red heart, explosion, and clapping emoji.
“It would be amazing to see him in Cobra Kai but I understand where he’s coming from with it,” chimed in another fan.
Chad McQueen Has Retired From Acting
During a 2019 interview with Collider, Martin Kove, who plays sensei John Kreese, divulged that he had spoken to McQueen about returning to the “Karate Kid” franchise. He noted that both he and William “Billy” Zabka “kept calling him and it never got put together.” The 75-year-old explained that he has long retired from acting and shifted his focus to race car driving.
While speaking to The Sunday Times in 2017, McQueen acknowledged that he was inspired by his famous father, Steve McQueen, to become a professional racecar driver. He revealed that “when [he] was 10” he visited his father “in France, where he was filming [the motor racing movie] ‘Le Mans.’”
“At the track, he swings open the door of this Porsche [racing car], waved me over and sat me on his lap,” recalled McQueen. “To me it seemed like we were going a million miles an hour, but I don’t think he actually went much over 120. For one split second, when we were driving, my dad took his hands off the wheel, so I was steering. His love of cars was so infectious, it screwed me up for life.”
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