Season 5 of Cobra Kai took a little bit to get going—the whole Mexico storyline, well, it didn’t quite pay dividends—but once the crane-kicking karate action and soap operatics hit its stretch run, the show was as good as its ever been.
Part of what makes Cobra Kai great is the fact that its character dynamics are constantly shifting; for the first time, Season 5 saw Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) fully on the same side. They have no reason to be fighting anymore, and so they’re fully friends. The show’s writers are too smart, and know these characters too well to go down the same paths over and over again. Joining the fun this year is Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto), an old Karate Kid Part II foe of Daniel’s from Okinawa; the heroes take on evil billionaire Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), operating with more power and experience than ever before after taking over the Cobra Kai dojo.
John Kreese, you may remember, wound up behind bars, framed by Silver with an assist from Stingray (Paul Walter Hauser). Season 5 ultimately becomes a battle of good (Daniel, Johnny, and basically all of our previous characters, including even Tory) versus Evil (Silver and his star students, which include poor brainwashed Kenny (Dallas Dupree Young) and the idiot Kyler).
Ultimately good wins out; Silver seems headed for jail, where—shocker!—Kreese has pulled a Hannibal Lecter and fully escaped. That will be something to reckon with in the future now won’t it?
But we’re facing a different question now: mainly, how Season 6 of Cobra Kai will wrap this whole story up.
Has Netflix renewed Cobra Kai for Season 6?
On January 20, 2023, Cobra Kai was officially renewed for Season 6—which will also mark the end of the series.
“Let me ask you: Do you have one more fight left in you?” a Tweet from the official Cobra Kai account read. “The sixth and final season of COBRA KAI is coming soon to Netflix.”
Season 6 of Cobra Kai will wrap the series up.
It was revealed that Cobra Kai will conclude with Season 6 in an open letter posted by showrunners Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald.
“Our day one goal with Cobra Kai has always been to end it on our terms, leaving the valley in the time and place we’ve always imagined. So it is with immense pride and thankfulness that we are able to announce that achievement,” the letter reads. “The upcoming Season Six will mark the conclusion of Cobra Kai.”
The letter also goes on to hint that while the proper Cobra Kai series is indeed concluding, it’s possible that spinoffs or connected projects of another nature could be in the cards for the future.
“While this may be a bittersweet day for the fandom, the Miyagiverse has never been stronger. This fandom is the BEST on the planet and we hope to be telling more Karate Kid stories with you down the line,” it reads. “Because as we all know, Cobra Kai Never Dies.”
Stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka both reacted to the news on their individual Twitter pages:
Creators Hurwitz, Schlossberg, and Heald all posted as well:
The end of Cobra Kai Season 5 seemed to have things mostly in a good, settled place for our characters—Miguel and Robby are on good terms, Miguel and Samantha are on good terms, Robby and Tory are on good terms, Johnny is having a baby with Carmen, etc etc. So it shouldn’t come as much of a shock that the show is entering its home stretch.
The only loose ends seem to be whatever is going on with poor Kenny, and the big one—Kreese escaping from prison.
When will Season 6 of Cobra Kai come out?
While the September release of Season 5 of Cobra Kai came a bit earlier than the New Year’s releases of the prior two seasons, it could be a bit longer before we see the gang for Season 6. That’s because the co-creators are also hard at work on an action-comedy show called Obliterated, which will also air on Netflix. The filmmakers were also announced to be behind a Ferris Bueller spinoff, which could also possibly come before another Cobra Kai season.
That said, we really don’t know. Since Season 6 of Cobra Kai didn’t return to the New Year’s spot in 2023, we can conservatively guess that it will return in Spring of 2024.
What could Cobra Kai Season 6 be about?
As we alluded to above, much of Cobra Kai seems to be in a good place with our main characters. With Silver exposed and Cobra Kai hurting, it seems like it would be logical for the next steps to be Miyagi-Do reforming and Eagle Fang continuing its thing, as Johnny and Daniel continue to work together.
We also need to see what happens in the future with both Kreese (who’s now, you know, escaped from prison Hannibal Lecter style) and Kenny (who became a bad kid under Cobra Kai advisement, but who we know from before is, indeed, a good kid). Robby (hopefully!) can help him out there.
In that same Variety interview, Schlossberg hinted that Kreese could once again become the main Cobra Kai villain:
We liked the idea that for a lot of the characters it feels like, “We did it. It’s over. Cobra Kai is done.” Meanwhile, there’s the ultimate Cobra Kai snake out there that is really pissed off at everybody right now. We’ll see if life goes on easy in Season 6, or if Kreese has something to say. Something tells me that it’s going to be the latter.
They also alluded to a few other storylines up in the air: Johnny’s incoming child, the dissolution of Cobra Kai and where they could go next, and the possibility of seeing that international karate tournament play out on screen.
“We grew up loving the Rocky movies. There’s that original Rocky and then there’s Mr. T in Rocky III. Once it gets to that craziness, how do you top it? Well, you get Russia and America and Drago,” Schlossberg said. “If you’re the best around in karate, what are you going to do? Maybe there’s something beyond just your local area.”
Who would be in the Cobra Kai Season 6 cast?
We expect all of our favorites from the past several seasons to return. That means the adults: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler, Vanessa Rubio, and Martin Kove. We also expect to see all of the key kids back as well, led by Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, Peyton List, and Jacob Bertrand. Dallas Dupree Young will of course be back, as Kenny’s story is clearly not over, and the same goes for Daniel LaRusso’s other son, played by Griffin Santopiero.
The characters in question would probably include Terry Silver—who has seen his arc conclude and is headed to jail—and Chozen—who is probably headed back to Okinawa. Could Mike Barnes return? His role in Season 5 was more of a recurring cameo, and there could be more fun to be had. Sean Kanan seems game; he spoke about a potential return where he would fight Terry Silver in a Men’s Health interview and has also tweeted some potential ideas as well.
We don’t know if Stingray will pop in again, but we wouldn’t bet against it. That’s a character who always makes the show a bit more fun.
Evan is the culture editor for Men’s Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE. He loves weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than he doesn’t.
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