Cobra Kai Star Says Jackie Chan Cameo Won’t Work, But Hilary Swank Would

Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio says a cameo from Jackie Chan wouldn’t fit in the series continuity, but Hilary Swank could make an appearance. Based on The Karate Kid films, Cobra Kai stars Macchio and William Zabka reprising their roles from the 1984 classic martial arts coming-of-age drama. The series ran its first two seasons on YouTube before transferring to Netflix for its third season and its upcoming fourth, set to premiere on December 31, 2021.

Cobra Kai follows Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence, three decades after his defeat at the hands of Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso in the original film. In the series, Johnny has opened up his own karate dojo which reignites his old rivalry with Daniel. Ahead of its fourth season premiere, Netflix renewed Cobra Kai for season 5, which has already wrapped filming.

In an interview with /Film, Macchio said that Jackie Chan, having starred in the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, couldn’t appear in the series, given that the remake doesn’t share the same canon as Cobra Kai. He goes on to say that two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank could appear on the series having starred in the often-overlooked The Next Karate Kid which shares continuity, with both films featuring the central Mr. Miyagi. The 1994 film was widely panned and tanked at the box office despite it being considered Swank’s breakout role. Read Macchio’s thoughts below:

“Anyone who knew Mr. Miyagi and interacted with Mr. Miyagi is canon for our show, for the Cobra Kai show…To the flip side of that, someone like Julie Pierce, who is Hilary Swank’s role, did know Miyagi. So there’s always a chance for maybe that.”

Though martial arts fans would be pleased to see Chan appear in Cobra Kai, Swank’s own body of work is nothing to dismiss, having proven herself in recent action movies such as The Hunt and I Am Mother, not to mention her Oscar-winning turn as a boxer in Million Dollar Baby. Her appearance on the series would allow for some much-needed feminine energy to the testosterone-fueled Cobra Kai. Despite this, Thomas Ian Griffith is confirmed for Cobra Kai season 4, reprising his role as villain Terry Silver from The Karate Kid III, assuring fans that Cobra Kai will have no shortage of nostalgia bait to please its audience this season.

Source: /Film

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