Hilary Swank’s The Next Karate Kid character Julie would be a great addition to Cobra Kai, but not until after season 5. A perfect example of how to reignite a franchise from the past but with a modern spin on it, Cobra Kai has had four successful seasons and is now heading to a fifth one. While Cobra Kai‘s season 5 release date has yet to be announced, it may be a while before audiences see their favorite characters returning – as season 4 came out in January 2022, a year after season 3 premiered.
Cobra Kai season 4 saw Terry Silver betray Kreese to become the sole owner of a new, expanded Cobra Kai dojo. To prevent Silver to take over the valley with his money and twisted karate values, Daniel will have to break the terms of his deal with Cobra Kai and team up with the also Miyagi Do-trained Chozen. However, Daniel and Chozen are not the only heirs to the Miyagi Do teachings, as Mr. Miyagi had another student after Daniel.
Cobra Kai‘s showrunners have teased more than once the possibility of Hilary Swank’s Julie, the main character in The Next Karate Kid, joining the show as they consider every movie Mr. Miyagi was in as canon to Cobra Kai. If Netflix is capable of getting Hilary Swank to reprise her The Next Karate Kid role, then Julie should be an ace up Cobra Kai‘s sleeve for when the show runs out of cameos and storylines from the first three Karate Kid films. So far, each season of Cobra Kai has brought or at least teased an important character from the Karate Kid movies. After Cobra Kai season 4 saw the return of Terry Silver, season 5 will again feature the Karate Kid 3 villain in addition to the return of Chozen, plus a likely appearance by Mike Barnes. Cobra Kai isn’t done revisiting the story of Daniel Larusso, and for that reason, Cobra Kai season 5 would be too soon for Julie to join the show.
Given how successful Hilary Swank went to become after The Next Karate Kid, her character Julie joining Cobra Kai would also be a huge marketing ploy for whenever the shows need a boost in popularity. While there are still names like Mike Barnes and Jessica who are yet to be thrown into the mix, the number of characters from the first three Karate Kid films that are yet to be used could reach zero already in Cobra Kai season 5. In the likely hypothesis that Cobra Kai has a season 6 or 7, the show would run the risk of failing to deliver on its long-established tradition of bringing characters from the movies to help or complicate the lives of Larusso, Johnny, and their students. That’s why having Julie as a later addition can benefit Cobra Kai. It’s also important to note that Julie’s story is quite disconnected from Daniel Larusso’s except for Mr. Miyagi’s role in both of them, meaning that Cobra Kai should wrap up all the current storylines before adding Hilary Swank’s character.
Often forgotten by even those who love of the Karate Kid saga, Hilary Swank’s Julie can help Cobra Kai in lots of ways if she joins the show in the future, not now. Cobra Kai season 5 already seems to be full as it is, but a possible Cobra Kai season 6 can be the perfect opportunity to bring in Julie. It remains to be seen whether Cobra Kai will be able to get Hilary Swank on the show, and if that would be in a cameo capacity or a full-fledged role.
