Why Cobra Kai’s Ralph Macchio didn’t come back for The Next Karate Kid

At this point, it seems to me that every chapter of the Karate Kid series must include Pelican kick pro Ralph Macchio. The original Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso, returned for Cobra Kai alongside his old foe Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and together they helped make the series just as successful as the films, if not more successful. But what stopped Macchio from returning for The Next Karate Kid, where he was instead replaced by Hilary Swank when the franchise was still a trilogy?

Macchio assured Uproxx that it wasn’t a matter of turning down an offer – he just never got the call. Luckily, he harbored no animosity toward his co-star. Pat Morita, who played the masterful Mr. Miyagi. “I heard they were making the film. There was a period of time for no particular reason when Pat Morita and I probably didn’t have that much contact. That had nothing to do with anything…everything I have.” Pat Morita is the greatest love and respect.” Macchio never realized why he wasn’t invited back to “The Next Karate Kid,” although he suspected that this was a consequence of the franchise’s change in ownership:

“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 assumption was that there was an idea from the studio to move forward, and they got Pat to come on board with that idea.

According to Macchio, he had no tensions with anyone – neither his former co-star Pat Morita nor his successor Hilary Swank – simply because he didn’t have to.

It happens from time to time: studios squeeze every last bit out of a franchise, with or without the original star. Macchio didn’t mind, but it was still understandably strange for the franchise’s figurehead for ten years to see someone else hopping on one leg for a change:

“It was kind of strange 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 will.’ Never do anything like that again.’ None of that happened. I think it was probably a decision by the studio and the producer at that point: “Hey, let’s take this in this direction, let’s find a different way.”

As for the star who took his place, Macchio says their real-life encounters didn’t lead to the two reaching an agreement: “I met Hilary Swank once or twice and we had an internal smile about it.”

For many “Cobra Kai” fans, however, the question arises as to whether Swank and Macchio will ever be seen on screen together. With a third of the final season still left to watch on Netflix, there is only hope that it can continue as the show’s creators have not yet given any hints that there will be any major guest appearances soon.

Considering that almost every notable character from the “Karate Kid” series who has graced the mat from both sides of the mat has appeared in “Cobra Kai,” Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce is one of the greatest characters to appear in Not represented in this series is the six-season run. Fans have commented on her absence and Macchio himself has admitted it A Hilary Swank cameo makes perfect sense.

The makers of Cobra Kai have heard these speculations, but they haven’t kept quiet about whether she will actually stop by the Saikai Taikai. Looks or not, we’ll apparently get a mention at the end. In conversation with CBR In November 2024, executive producer Josh Heald responded to questions about Julie’s place in the “Cobra Kai” universe:

“At some point we’ll say something about whether or not she’s on the show and how great she is or why she’s not on it. But we don’t want to spoil anything if we start dancing around anything because we can’t talk about all the legacy characters coming back and their involvement until it actually happens or until we can give you some insight.”

We can only hope that we can find room for The Next Karate Kid in the Miyagi-verse’s future. After all, there is enough for everyone to grow and grow.