Cobra Kai Season 3 will bring Danny back to Okinawa, the setting of The Karate Kid Part II, where he'll reunite with Kumiko and Chozen.
With Tamlyn Tomita and Yuji Okumoto reprising their respective roles, Ralph Macchio enjoyed working with both actors from the 1986 film. Macchio also hinted to CBR that the two characters will impart some of Mister Miyagi's wisdom to Daniel during his Okinawan return.
"It was beautiful, it was a highlight. Tamlyn came and she just clicks on that Kumiko in ten seconds, we were like sixteen-years-old," Macchio said. "There was such a sweet chemistry that we had back then and still have today. It's going to be interesting to see how people feel about that."
Macchio added, "And LaRusso, he's a family man, it's his life, but you wonder if he thought, 'What if? What if this ever continued?' Does he have those feelings? But it's more like a, 'We always had Paris' kind of thing," he clarified. "She's moved on with her life and he's moved on with his and she hands off wisdom. She's like an extension of Miyagi."
Okumoto's Chozen was an antagonist for Daniel in the 1986 film, developing an immediate dislike for the teenage karate champion the second they first met. And while Macchio noted that Chozen will similarly have a gruff appearance in Cobra Kai Season 3, there will be more sides to Daniel's rival than he initially thought.
"And Yuji snaps right into that 'Your karate is weak!' And yet, there's a turn in his character," he said. "You see that dimension over time and they both become a sort of a carrier of Miyagi's wisdom to LaRusso and it's kind of a beautiful thing and some of my favorite stuff of the season."
The official synopsis for Season 3 reads,
COBRA KAI takes place over 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament with the continuation of the inescapable conflict between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Season 3 finds everyone reeling in the aftermath of the violent high school brawl between their dojos, which has left Miguel in a precarious condition. While Daniel searches for answers in his past and Johnny seeks redemption, Kreese further manipulates his vulnerable students with his own vision of dominance. The soul of the Valley is at stake, and the fate of every student and sensei hangs in the balance.
Cobra Kai stars William Zabka, Ralph Macchio, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni Decenzo, Peyton List and Martin Kove. Season 3 arrives on Netflix on Jan. 1.