The Miyagi-verse is alive and well with "Cobra Kai," the hit Netflix series that serves as both a sequel and a spin-off of the popular "Karate Kid" franchise.
The teachings of Mr. Miyagi — the sage sensei from the original 1984 film "The Karate Kid," played by Oscar-nominated actor Pat Morita — have permeated the previous five seasons of the martial arts dramedy and will no doubt continue going into the show's sixth and final season, which will be released in three parts beginning July 18. (The second installment will arrive on November 28, with the final five episodes to follow on a to-be-announced date in 2025.)
A mystery surrounding the late Miyagi-san is one of the main plot points of season 6 and will reportedly show his old protégé Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) a new side of the karate instructor. And the "Cobra Kai" creators have said that they're interested in showing even more sides of Mr. Miyagi in a potential prequel spin-off, per a recent interview with CinemaBlend.
"We discussed it. I don't think we would ever recast Miyagi if we are looking at the Pat Morita-aged Miyagi. You know, our minds, they run wild. We like to think about who Mr. Miyagi was a hundred years ago," series co-creator Josh Heald told the outlet.
"Everybody knows the story that Miyagi tells in 'The Karate Kid: Part Two,' about his coming of age, and Sato. So it's not outside the realm (of) possibility that we would want to perhaps explore different eras of Mr. Miyagi at some point in this franchise, with a different performer."
As Morita passed away in 2005 at age 73, "Cobra Kai" has been very respectful of Morita's legacy within the franchise and not opted for any CGI or visual effects to represent young Miyagi in the series.
"I think we personally bump on the idea of going back to a timeline that overlaps with when Daniel knew Miyagi, and do that with anybody other than Pat," Heald continued. "We've been very careful in the series so far to use the footage and to shoot — there was a scene where I shot Miyagi from behind when he first built the backyard.
"But to turn around and (show) the face, it has to either be a different era, or it would have to be Pat. It would have to look like Pat. It would have to sound like Pat. It would be a bump, I think, for people to say, ‘Okay, this is 1986, and it's not quite what I remember.’"
The "Cobra Kai" creators previously revealed that they wanted to expand the Miyagi-verse with more spin-offs, so maybe a Miyagi-san prequel with another actor portraying a young Nariyoshi Miyagi will be coming to your screens in the near future.
Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all updates surrounding both "Cobra Kai" and any potential Miyagi-verse spin-off series, including behind-the-scenes tidbits, casting intel, showrunner insights and more. In the meantime, you can revisit the first five seasons of the martial arts comedy-drama with a Netflix subscription.
