The O.G. Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio (who is now 60 years old and looks over a decade younger), saw the publication of his memoir, Waxing On: The Karate Kid And Me, this week. He recently spoke with us about a number of Cobra Kai-related subjects, including one of my favorite Season 5 quotes that popped up after ultimate karate nemesis Terry Silver declared the impending end of Miyagi-do. To that, Daniel LaRusso responded, “The roots are strong, so the tree will survive.”
At that point, Daniel ushered in the spirit of Mr. Miyagi and also whipped out the crane kick, defeating the franchise’s “Bond villain” and ensuring that the good guys would win this round. What that means for the future of the Netflix show, no one seems to know, but this week, Macchio visited the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, where he mentioned that he’d love to see the franchise go deep on Mr. Miyagi’s origins. In addition, Macchio revealed to Hollywood Reporter that “they are working on it.”
Who is “they”? Macchio isn’t clear whether this could involve Netflix or Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg. There’s also the curious matter of a mystery Sony movie that’s related to Cobra Kai but somehow doesn’t involved any of the current cast members. It’s all very nebulous! But here’s what Macchio related to THR:
“Yes, they are working on it. It’s in the discussion stages. Cobra Kai does such a good job of unveiling all the layers of these characters and exploring where they came from, their pasts and their backstories. And if you go on Twitter or social media, people ask about Miyagi, who, in essence, is the secret sauce of the film because of the character and [Pat Morita’s] performance. Who was that guy? What was he like as a teenager? What was he like when he first came to the United States? Who was he when he went to World War II? What happened after he loses his wife and child in the internment camps? How does this guy come from Okinawa to a place where he was working as a maintenance guy at an apartment building? What’s that full story? So, yeah, there are discussions, but that’s all I have.”
No one would complain about firing up a Miyagi origin story, so long as Miyagi continues to get his due. And that goes right along with Macchio turning down endless pitches over the years that would would include Ghost Miyagi counseling Daniel-san on how to raise his own kid or something. If you’re wanting more of the late Pat Morita right now, though, More Than Miyagi is a riveting watch for any fan (or detractor) of the crane kick.
