The creators of Cobra Kai have considered bringing back Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce character, making a future appearance from Swank a distinct possibility. Swank starred in 1994’s The Next Karate Kid alongside Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi. The film did not feature any ties to the story of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, but Morita’s role still sets it firmly in the Cobra Kai canon.
Part of what’s made Cobra Kai such a hit since its move to Netflix is the number of past Karate Kid actors who’ve returned to reprise their old roles. Ralph Macchio and William Zabka lead the cast as Larusso and Lawrence, but other characters like John Kreese (Martin Kove), Daniel’s mother Lucille (Randee Heller), and other students of the original Cobra Kai dojo all make appearances as well. Season 2 will bring back key figures from The Karate Kid Part II as well, including Kumiko (Tamlyn Tumita) and Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto). With so many familiar faces having passed through Cobra Kai already, it seems like any past Karate Kid character could make a return.
One of the most obvious possible reprisals would be Hilary Swank’s Julie Pierce. Fans have hoped for Pierce’s onscreen return for some time, and the show’s creators have apparently considered it extensively themselves. “In our writers’ room we speak about literally every character that has appeared in the Miyagi-verse,” Cobra Kai co-creator Jon Hurwitz said in a recent interview with CinemaBlend. “So it’s obvious that we’ve spoken about Julie Pierce. As to whether or not she’ll return to the series, that’s something you’ll just have to wait to find out.” Hurwitz emphasized that anything within Morita’s Karate Kid movies could be fair game for a Cobra Kai comeback, and that the Mr. Miyagi character has always been at the heart of the story.
“We always say that our show takes place in the Miyagi-verse…in our minds, any story in which Mr. Miyagi was a character, with Pat Morita playing Mr. Miyagi I should say, is canon to our world. The Next Karate Kid is a part of our universe. We believe that the events of that movie happened…In terms of that movie, it has its pluses and minuses. One of the things that’s really special about it is it’s very early work for Hilary Swank and she’s gone on to be one of the great actors in Hollywood. Her performance is great in that movie and her chemistry with Pat Morita is fantastic.”
As Daniel expands his Miyagi-Do karate dojo, it makes a lot of sense for Julie to show back up. Season 3 will have Daniel travel to Okinawa and supposedly uncover some new information about his old sensei’s past. As Miyagi’s history becomes more central to the show’s active plot, a return from Swank’s The Next Karate Kid character seems more and more likely as well. She could offer a nice personality balance to the Daniel/Johnny dynamic and introduce some interesting new elements for the future of the show, which has already been renewed by Netflix for a fourth season.
As more Cobra Kai approaches, Julie isn’t the only familiar face who could make a surprise return. The original film’s Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue) has been referenced numerous times, including at the very end of season two. Cobra Kai will return to Netflix in January, and the upcoming seasons will likely keep rolling with more comebacks and nostalgia trips for fans.
