Why didn't Cobra Kai's Ralph Macchio come back for the next Karate Kid?

Right now, it feels like any chapter in The Karate Kid franchise that gets fired up can't do without pelican-kicking pro Ralph Macchio. The original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso returned with his old nemesis Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in Cobra Kai, and together they helped make the show. as successful as the movies, if not more so. But when the franchise was still a trilogy, what prevented Macchio from returning in “The Next Karate Kid,” where he was replaced by Hilary Swank?

Macchio assured Uproxx that it wasn't a matter of rejecting the offer – he just didn't get the call. Fortunately, he had no animosity towards his colleague, Pat Morita, who played the masterful Mr. Miyagi. “I heard they were making a movie. There was a period of time, for no particular reason, where Pat Morita and I probably didn't communicate as much. It had nothing to do with anything… all I have is Pat Morita is the ultimate love and respect.” It was never explained to Macchio why he wasn't invited back to “The Next Karate Kid,” though he thought it was a result of the franchise changing hands:

“I know (director) John G. Avildsen didn't make the movie, I know Robert Mark Kamen didn't write the movie. So the original creators weren't involved (…) My guess was (was) an idea from the studio to go on and they told Pat join this idea.”

According to Macchio, he had no tension with anyone – neither his former co-star Pat Morita nor his replacement Hilary Swank – simply because there shouldn't have been.

It happens from time to time: Studios will squeeze out the last vestiges of a franchise with or without the original star. Macchio didn't mind, but even so, the franchise's poster boy for a decade found it understandably odd to see someone else jump on one leg while switching:

“It was weird for me. I never really had a conversation with Pat about it after that. Again, for no apparent reason. It wasn't like they came to me and (I) said, 'Oh no, I'm going to do it.' never do another one of these. None of that happened, I think at the time it was a decision by the studio and the producer, “Let's look this way, let's find another way.”

As for the star who took his place, Macchio says their real-life run-in hasn't led to the two of them breaking up: “I've run into Hilary Swank once or twice and we've had an inside laugh about it all.”

However, many “Cobra Kai” fans are wondering if we will ever see Swank and Macchio on screen together. With a third of the final season left to hit Netflix, there's only hope of continuity as the show's creators haven't hinted at major episodes to come.

Considering that almost every major figure from “The Karate Kid” franchise from both sides of the carpet has appeared in “Cobra Kai,” Hilary Swank's Julie Pierce is one of the biggest characters left out. a six-season run. Fans have spoken out about her absence, and Macchio himself has acknowledged it Hilary Swank's cameo makes sense.

The makers of “Cobra Kai” have heard these speculations, but have remained silent on whether or not she will actually appear in Saikai Taikai. Looks or not, but apparently we'll get some kind of mention by the end. Talking to CBR In November 2024, executive producer Josh Heald answered questions about Julia's place in the Cobra Kai universe:

“We're finally going to say something about whether or not she's on the show and how surprising that is, or why she's not. But we don't want to spoil anything by dancing around anything because we can't talk about all the legacy characters coming back, and what their involvement is until it actually happens or we can see it for you.”

We can only hope that we find a place for “The Next Karate Kid” in the future of Miyagi's poem. After all, everyone has enough to wax and remove.