Netflix Teases a Mysterious Season 3 of 'The Karate Kid' Series 'Cobra Kai'

Get your first taste of the upcoming episodes with this trailer.

When Cobra Kai, the spin-off of the Karate Kid film series, arrived on YouTube Red (now YouTube Premium) in 2018, it generated lots of positive press, with many reviews celebrating it as a surprising example of the reboot or revival done right. But, though viewership on YouTube was high, it never quite achieved the level of pop cultural ubiquity that you might expect given the acclaim. That could change this Friday when Cobra Kai debuts on Netflix, where the first two seasons will stream in advance of an upcoming Netflix-produced third season due out in 2021. 

If you need a refresher on the rivalry between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), Netflix has put together a new trailer that blends scenes from the show with footage from the 1984 original, which is currently available to stream along with the two sequels. ("You're the Best" even makes an appearance at one point.) Towards the end of the trailer, we catch our first glimpse of a scene from Season 3, with Daniel taking on an attacker with some mysterious connection to Mr. Miyagi, the martial arts master who trained him back in the day. 

When in 2021 will Season 3 drop? The trailer only says 2021 as a clue. In a recent interview with TV Insider, creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg confirmed that Season 3 has been shot, so don't expect any pandemic-related delays. "It’s complete and awesome," said Hurwitz. "Anyone who has watched the first two seasons, note we left season two with a lot of things that need to be answered for. We will get there when we get there."

In the meantime, catch up with the first two seasons starting August 28.

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Dan Jackson is a senior staff writer at Thrillist Entertainment. He's on Twitter @danielvjackson.