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Entertainment

The 'Karate Kid' Is Coming Back, Again

The same actors who played Daniel-san and Johnny more than 30 years ago are reprising their roles for the upcoming sequel series.
Screenshot via Karate Kid trailer

Ralph Macchio is putting his cleaning skills to the test again in a new Karate Kid sequel series for YouTube Red, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Macchio will return as the headband-wearing, ass-kicking youth Daniel LaRusso in the ten-episode series, called Cobra Kai. William Zabka is also getting back into character, reprising his role as big dumb movie bully-slash-LaRusso karate nemesis Johnny Lawrence.

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The comedy series will follow Lawrence as he struggles to get his life back together after presumably spending the past 30 years getting high in various bathroom stalls, according to the Reporter. He decides to reopen the Cobra Kai dojo and revive his long-standing rivalry with LaRusso.

"The minute I heard about this project, I knew we had to have it," YouTube's head of content Susanne Daniels told Variety. "The Karate Kid became an instant classic in the 1980s, and still resonates with audiences around the world and on YouTube today."

Cobra Kai will be written by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. Heald was the guy who made Hot Tub Time Machine, and Hurwitz and Schlossberg were the duo behind the Harold and Kumar series—so maybe we'll get to see Daniel-san challenge Johnny to a round of Battleshits or something. Hurwitz and Schlossberg are also onboard to direct most of the episodes.

"Cobra Kai will be a true continuation of the original films—packed with comedy, heart and thrilling fight scenes," the trio of writers said in a statement. "We can't wait to reignite the LaRusso-Lawrence rivalry."

The show is currently heading into production and is set to debut on YouTube Red in 2018.