Cobra Kai’s Ralph Macchio has revealed that Terry Silver’s return to the Karate Kid franchise was carefully planned. Cobra Kai is a Netflix series that first hit the streaming service in 2018. It is a spinoff of the beloved Karate Kid film series and takes place 34 years after the events of the first film. The series follows Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) who find themselves sucked into their old rivalry and into the world of karate once more when Lawrence decides to re-open the Cobra Kai dojo.
One of the major reasons for Cobra Kai’s success, is that it draws heavily from the original films. From the karate action to the hot rides to the heart, Cobra Kai has held firm to its origins. To achieve this, they brought back original stars Macchio and Zabka and peppered the series with many more familiar faces. Martin Kove reprised his role of John Kreese in the season 1 finale, and subsequently became a regular in the show. Meanwhile, Lawrence and LaRusso’s love interest, Ali Mills (portrayed by Elisabeth Shue) guest starred in season 3. To top that, LaRusso visits Okinawa in season 3 and runs into several of his Karate Kid II companions. Naturally, Cobra Kai wants to keep that momentum going for season 4.
After it was announced that Thomas Ian Griffith would reprise his role as villain Silver for the series, Macchio revealed to The Wrap that the return took careful planning. Macchio pointed out that the series has had to make an effort to not give viewers too much at once. Each original Karate Kid character has to be strategically placed throughout the series to contribute effectively to the plot. Macchio admitted that the series ‘always‘ had Silver’s return in mind, as they toyed with how and when to bring him back and measured how his return would impact Lawrence and Kreese. Check out Macchio’s quote below:
“One thing we’ve done is we’ve really talked through the arcs and how to not give too much at once. Keep those Easter eggs just carefully placed, keep those O.G. guest stars peppered at the right time to propel the story in the an organic way. They’ve always had that in the crosshairs: when to bring Terry Silver back and in what capacity. And how he plays in regard to the Kreese character, the Johnny Lawrence character, the LaRusso character, it’s another wrench in our karate soap opera.”
Macchio also took the time to express his happiness for Griffith’s return as Silver in Cobra Kai, whole-heartedly welcoming him to the dojo and describing him as ‘wonderful’. Silver’s return is definitely a ‘wrench’ in the series that requires careful planning to execute correctly. In Karate Kid III, Silver is introduced as the co-founder of Cobra Kai, who shares many of Kreese’s malicious and unstable traits. As LaRusso’s manipulative sensei, he manages to alienate him from Mr. Miyagi and causes LaRusso to become angry and aggressive.
This revelation from Macchio about Silver’s return is consistent with Cobra Kai’s creators’ promise of a big season 4. Season 3 ended with LaRusso and Lawrence putting their rivalry behind them as their dojos join forces to take down Kreese. Alone, Kreese may not stand much of a chance against their combined forces – but what if he gets back-up from his old partner in crime? Indeed, Silver’s return required careful planning to introduce him at the tensest point of the series. A LaRusso-Lawrence alliance against a Kreese-Silver alliance has enormous potential – if pulled off correctly Cobra Kai season 4 could make Karate Kid history.
Source: The Wrap
Originally from https://screenrant.com/cobra-kai-season-4-terry-silver-ralph-macchio-response/