Cobra Kai keeps pulling off the seemingly unachievable, all after resurrecting The Karate Kid franchise in a way that it so richly deserved. It’s an infuriatingly good revival, and Season 4 has somehow already wrapped shooting after the show hot-dropped Season 3 a few days early in late 2020. New cast members will be onboard while a few actors have been promoted to regular status, and Netflix is diving into tease-and-reveal-and-tease-more mode with the above video, which confirms what some suspected about John Kreese’s curious phone call: he was calling up his old Vietnam War buddy, who was previously seen (in a flashback) telling Kreese, “I owe you, man. You saved my ass. Anything you need, I’m there for you. Your whole life. You hear me? Your whole life.”
This was, in effect, a set up for the Season 4 because (as Netflix has now confirmed) the old friend is actually Terry Silver, last portrayed by Thomas Ian Griffith in The Karate Kid III. He was, along with Kreese, one of the O.G. founders of the Cobra Kai dojo. Kreese was looking for a secret weapon because he sure needs one after Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence have joined their dojos, and their charges will fight Kreese’s recruits at the All Valley High conference, three decades after the 1984 showdown between Daniel and Johnny that ended the first film with that fateful crane kick. And as the above teaser promises, Thomas Ian Griffith will truly return to the franchise.
Via a Netflix-issued statement from Cobra Kai writers and co-executive producers Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, “Now the real pain begins.” They added, “Since the beginning of the series, we’ve been carefully orchestrating the right moment to unleash Cobra Kai dojo co-founder Terry Silver back into the universe. That moment is now. We can’t wait for the whole world to experience Thomas Ian Griffith’s majestic return to the franchise.”
Yep, expect some real pain for sure. Silver showed himself to be quite adept at poisoning the minds of those who crossed his path, and that includes Daniel LaRusso, although hopefully, Daniel has learned his lesson about shying away from the dark side after what went down with Miguel and Robby a few years ago. Whatever the case, it’s sure to be an enormous showdown, and since the action’s going back to All Valley in Season 4, that would also be an ideal time for the show to answer this significant question that the show has yet to address. Make it happen, Netflix.
Cobra Kai‘s Season 4 release date remains under wraps, for the moment.
