Netflix's Cobra Kai has not asked The Next Karate Kid star Hilary Swank to reprise her role.
As reported by People, the actor discussed her absence from The Karate Kid sequel series on Live with Kelly and Ryan. "I'm not in Cobra Kai, no one's asked me to be in Cobra Kai," Swank said. The Million Dollar Baby star played Julie Pierce in the 1994 film The Next Karate Kid alongside Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi. The actor revealed it was all in Netflix's hands to determine if her character should return for Cobra Kai. "No one's called me, but it's so funny, isn't it, that's the one thing I get asked the most and no one's called me?"
The Next Karate Kid marked the fourth installment in the teen martial arts franchise, with Julie replacing Daniel LaRusso as Mr. Miyagi's new pupil. It was the last mainline Karate Kid entry. 16 years later, Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith starred in a 2010 remake of the original film set in a different universe. However, the film earned negative reviews. Like The Karate Kid remake, The Next Karate Kid didn't fare well with critics. Despite the criticisms, Swank's character is among the most-requested to return for Cobra Kai.
The Netflix series aired its fifth season on Sept. 9. Critics and audiences alike praised the season as being one of the best Cobra Kai had to offer thus far. Since Cobra Kai began, many key characters from The Karate Kid franchise have returned to either lend a hand or stir up some trouble. In Season 5, The Karate Kid Part II villain, Chozen Toguchi, teamed up with Daniel to take down Terry Silver's corrupt karate studio.
The Karate Kid Legacy
In addition to Chozen, The Karate Kid Part III's Mike Barnes returned as an innocent furniture store owner. However, karate's bad boy reignites his vengeance against Silver. Apart from Chozen and Barnes, other characters who reprised their Karate Kid roles include Martin Kove as Sensei Kreese, William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence and Tamlyn Tomita as Kumiko.
While the possibility of a time jump remains unclear for the future Cobra Kai, creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg warned fans about potential delays surrounding Season 6. "We're still working all that out with Sony and Netflix, and we don't have an official Season 6 to announce yet," Hurwitz said. "But we're hopeful that there's going to be more Cobra Kai on the horizon."
All five seasons of Cobra Kai are streaming exclusively on Netflix.
Source: People