YouTube Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) is enraged after Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) smears blueberry pie on his shirt in a "Karate Kid" (1984) deleted scene.
Newly-released deleted scenes from “The Karate Kid” are making their rounds online, stirring excitement among some fans in light of the imminent release of “Cobra Kai” season 4. Footage of the deleted scenes can be viewed on YouTube here.
Here’s what you need to know.
There Are 4 New Deleted Scenes
YouTubeJohnny Lawrence sneaks a blueberry pie onto Daniel’s seat in a “Karate Kid” (1984) deleted scene.
There are several new scenes which have fans talking. The first one consists of Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) confronting Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) with a permission form for the All Valley Karate Tournament which his mother is supposed to sign, warning Daniel that “they gotta know where to send your body after I get finished with it.” After Daniel tells Johnny that the Tournament is supposed to be no-contact, Johnny replies threateningly, “accidents happen.” After Daniel questions him further, Johnny pins him against a locker and says he might just “forget my promise and rip your teeth out.”
Another scene is a continuation of the scene in the movie where Daniel buys Ali lunch as they catch up in the cafeteria. In the deleted scene, Johnny sneaks a blueberry pie onto Daniel’s chair before he sits down next to Ali, angering Danny and triggering another fight between the two.
The final extended scene takes place at the All Valley Karate Tournament near the end of the film, and shows two portions that are not in the final cut. One is a fight between Daniel and a Cobra Kai member that didn’t make it to the film (a fight which Daniel wins), and the other takes place right after Bobby Brown (Ron Thomas) lands an illegal kick against Daniel’s knee after being told by Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove) to put Daniel “out of commission.”
In the final scene, a deeply distressed Daniel cries out for help on the ground as Mr. Miyagi consoles him and two officials carry him away as the crowd cheers him on. In the background, a remorseful Bobby can be seen kneeling on the ground, away from Daniel; after Daniel is taken away, he heads over to Kreese and throws his belt down on the ground, signaling his intent to quit.
Fans Have Commentary on the Deleted Scenes
YouTubeBobby Brown (Ron Thomas) quits John Kreese’s (Martin Kove) Cobra Kai in disgust as Johnny watches on in a “Karate Kid” (1984) deleted scene.
Fans of “The Karate Kid” and “Cobra Kai” were intrigued by the newly-released deleted scenes, with one user on Reddit declaring, “I love how ballsy Daniel is. Like he doesn’t care who f***s with him he’ll straight up fight back anytime.” Another also commented on Daniel’s character development, saying, “Shoulda kept the pie scene. Shows how Daniel wasn’t a b**** even when he knew he was out matched.”
Others pointed out the importance of the final scene, where Bobby throws his belt at Kreese’s feet, especially as it relates to Kreese’s character arc, and questioned why it was cut from the film. “Most of these scenes don’t change the continuity much,” one user wrote, “but Bobby throwing his belt at Kreese’s feet in disgust was a pretty big deal. Between that and Johnny handing Daniel the trophy, it’s pretty clear his students all turned on him in the end.” One top comment on the YouTube page read, “Seeing Kreese not even blink when Bobby threw away his belt shows that he never really cared all that much for him and just wanted to use him as a pawn in his game of chess.”
When it comes to the blueberry pie scene, some fans may already be familiar with it. This is because “Karate Kid” director John G. Avildsen posted many behind-the-scenes videos from the movie on his YouTube channel before his death in 2017. In 2010, he released a series of videos documenting rehearsals and read-throughs, one of which showed a rehearsal of the pie scene itself. Since the scene was later shot for real and meant to be included in the film, the footage is not the same as the actual deleted scene, but the dialogue and action is almost identical.
As the “Cobra Kai Kid” noted in an April 2021 YouTube video covering the rehearsal footage, the “blueberry pie” scene was actually referenced in “Cobra Kai” season 2, episode 9, when Daniel and his wife Amanda are on a double date with Johnny and Carmen Diaz. “You smeared a blueberry pie on my shirt!” Johnny exclaimed; “That’s ’cause you put it on my chair first,” replied Daniel.
Given how “Cobra Kai” co-creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg are known to be such big “Karate Kid” fans, it is unsurprising that they knew about the deleted scene only through Avildsen’s YouTube channel, long before most others did.
Tune in to Netflix on December 31 to see what else Daniel and Johnny will get up to when “Cobra Kai” season 4 is released.