Producers Talk Cobra Kai Spinoff Shows

Getty The "Cobra Kai" cast talks at The Paley Center for Media in 2019.

As fans of the Karate Kid franchise are aware, Cobra Kai Season 3 premiered on January 1. Due to the fact the season only had 10 episodes, there is a good chance that viewers are already wanting more Cobra Kai content. 

Fortunately, earlier this week Newsweek reported the production of Cobra Kai Season 4 has begun. Filming had previously been paused due to the global pandemic, according to Cobra Kai co-creator and executive producer Josh Heald in a January 2021 interview with Pop Culture.

“COVID has thrown a wrench into everyone’s plans for exactly when production begins,” explained Heald.

‘Cobra Kai’ Co-Creators Have Expressed Interest in Creating Spinoff Series

GettyThe cast of “Cobra Kai” poses together at The Paley Center for Media.

In the same interview, Heald’s fellow co-creator and executive producer Jon Hurwitz teased that there could be a number of Cobra Kai spinoff series in the future. He told Pop Culture: 

We love the show Breaking Bad, for example. We love how that story concluded, but you’re still living in that Breaking Bad universe. The same can be said for Cobra Kai down the road.

The show’s other co-creator and executive producer, Hayden Schlossberg, shared similar sentiments regarding possible Cobra Kai spinoffs during a recent interview with TVLine. 

“Our hope is that we can really expand this whole Karate Kid universe and reinvigorate the fanbase, so that it’s a story we can continue telling. We do have an endgame for Cobra Kai, but we always compare it to our other favorite show, Breaking Bad, [and how] they’re able to keep the story going with Better Call Saul and El Camino,” said Schlossberg.

In particular, he seemed to express interest in creating a show that further delves into Sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove), who is the antagonist of The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part III, and Cobra Kai. During the show’s latest season, fans were able to get a better grasp of the character through flashbacks. In Season 3, a young John Kreese (Barrett Carnahan) was seen experiencing a number of traumatic events while serving in Vietnam.

“We spend time with Kreese’s backstory [in Season 3], but we could’ve spent more time with Kreese’s backstory. We have so many things to tell in these half-hour episodes, it ends up not being enough. We’re just having a fun time as friends getting to work in the sandbox of The Karate Kid and hope to keep it going,” explained the executive producer.

Barrett Carnahan Commented on the Possibility of a Kreese Spinoff

YouTubeBarrett Carnahan portrays a younger John Kreese in Cobra Kai Season 3.

Recently, Comic Book Resources spoke to Barrett Carnahan about the possibility of starring in a series that focuses on Kreese. During the interview, the 28-year-old noted that he was unaware whether a spinoff about the veteran is currently in the works.

“I have no idea what they plan to do; all I can say is I’m just so lucky they decided to pick me for Season 3. I hope there’s more to the story but we’ll just have to wait and see,” stated the actor. 

He went onto say that he would be interested in working on a spinoff series.

“Yeah, that’d be incredible! That’d be so bada** to learn more about Kreese. I think that the fans would love that. There’s been a lot of fans saying that they want that online and on social media and that just warms my heart,” revealed the actor. 

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