Cobra Kai Season 3 features flashbacks to the Vietnam War, revealing John Kreese's backstory and what transformed him into the hardened, antagonistic karate sensei years later.
Following Netflix's acquisition of Cobra Kai, the Karate Kid sequel series has proven to be one of Netflix's most widely watched original series. As such, there has been talk of it potentially spawning spinoffs. Series co-creator and executive producer Hayden Schlossberg acknowledged that the series has spinoff potential, observing that there was creative room to explore more of Kreese's origins, for example. Actor Barrett Carnahan, who portrays the younger Kreese in Season 3's flashback sequences, is open to reprising the role should a spinoff come to pass.
"I have no idea what they plan to do; all I can say is I'm just so lucky they decided to pick me for Season 3. I hope there's more to the story but we'll just have to wait and see," Carnahan tells CBR. "A spinoff? Yeah, that'd be incredible! That'd be so badass to learn more about Kreese. I think that the fans would love that. There's been a lot of fans saying that they want that online and on social media and that just warms my heart."
For Carnahan, taking on the opportunity to portray such a fan-favorite character as Kreese was a particularly intimidating prospect. However, Carnahan has greatly appreciated the fan response to his performance in Season 3, fueling his interest to reprise the role, either in additional flashbacks in future seasons of Cobra Kai or in any potential spinoffs that may materialize down the line.
"I just want to say real quick -- this was kind of a scary thing and I know how passionate this fanbase is. So when I got the job, I was terrified because all I could think was, 'What if they don't like me? What if they don't believe me as Kreese?'" Carnahan admitted. "And ever since the show has dropped, I've seen nothing but positivity and love for the young Kreese portrayal and I just want to thank the fans for accepting me into the Miyagi-Verse with open arms. It's been such a pleasure and I hope there's more."
Cobra Kai stars William Zabka, Ralph Macchio, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni Decenzo, Peyton List and Martin Kove. All three seasons available to stream on Netflix.