Paul Walter Hauser reveals he is ready to return to the martial arts world of Netflix’s Cobra Kai as ’80s heavy metal fan Raymond, aka Stingray. In season 2 of the martial arts drama, Hauser’s character was introduced as a hardware store employee who bonds with William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence and becoming the oldest student at the titular dojo. After initially siding with John Kreese in the attempted takeover of Cobra Kai, Stingray participates in the climactic student brawl and is arrested and put on probation with a restraining order preventing him from coming within 500 feet of any minors.

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Initially a YouTube Original drama, the series picks up the lives of Lawrence and Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso 34 years after the events of The Karate Kid as the former reopens the titular dojo in an attempt to revitalize his life and help teenage social outcasts defend themselves. Doing so, however, enrages LaRusso and rekindles the duo’s rivalry, which trickles down to their students. The boat is further rocked for the two when Johnny’s former sensei Kreese returns in an attempt to reclaim Cobra Kai and bring it back to the dishonorable nature it used to maintain.

While chatting with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss his work on Disney’s Cruella, Hauser was asked about the possibility of his returning to Netflix’s Cobra Kai after being absent from its third season. Though noting a desire to see its main characters retain their screen time, the 34-year-old actor confirmed he’s interested in returning if asked back. Read what Hauser had to say below:

“I hope so! I love that show. Those guys hit me up all the time to check on me. They’re very sweet, and they want to know what I’m up to and how I’m doing. But there are so many characters in the Cobra Kai universe that I never want to take precious screen time away from those main characters. So if they have a way to plug me in in the future, I’m all for it. I’m just waiting on the phone call.”

Hauser has proven himself to be a consistently enjoyable presence on screen, whether starring as the goofy friend to Margot Robbie’s Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, or an overeager white supremacist in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. Given his growing popularity and film offers, it certainly made sense for his absence from the previous chapter of Netflix’s Cobra Kai, but to hear his ongoing interest in reprising the role should help fans remain optimistic he can return. That being said, a restraining order keeping him away from minors has created a major narrative hurdle the creative team would need to overcome to help explain his return to the fold.

Even if Stingray doesn’t return for the series’ fourth or fifth seasons, fans still have a lot to look forward to from the upcoming return of Cobra Kai. With Thomas Ian Griffith’s Terry Silver confirmed to be arriving as a primary antagonist for season 4, Daniel and Johnny are about the face the fight of their lives. For now, audiences will have to wait and see what’s to come as a proper trailer should debut soon before the series returns later this year.

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Source: THR

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Grant Hermanns
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Grant Hermanns is a News Writer, Interviewer and Hiring Manager for Screen Rant, having joined the team in early 2021. Way back in 2015 while still in his college days, Grant got his start in the entertainment journalism industry with creator-friendly site Moviepilot until it shuttered nearly three years later. From there he joined the staff at ComingSoon.net and was its Associate Editor prior to coming over to Screen Rant.

To say he’s a lover of film and television would be an understatement and when he’s not mass consuming either you can find him exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends or slowly making his way through his gaming backlog.

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