Creating a show following a movie franchise that ended 30 years ago is a behemoth task. No doubt the Karate Kid movies were a hit and many love them even today, but Netflix showed ambition by creating a drama series set 30 years after the events of the movie. Cobra Kai follows the two central characters of the movies, Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso. But a question that many fans have about the show is: Are Cobra Kai actors the same as Karate Kid?

When a movie is as old as Karate Kid, you do not really expect to get the entire cast to show up for a spinoff series. On rarest of the rare occasions, you will find the set of stars who are present and willing to become a part of such a project. Cobra Kai is just one of those lucky franchises that pulled this off. Sure, there was one major actor from the franchise who died in 2005, Pat Morita, but they addressed it respectfully. However, they still had an extensive set of actors to work with.

Are Cobra Kai actors the same as Karate Kid?

Well, to answer this question in short, yes, there is a plethora of Cobra Kai actors who are the same as Karate Kid. William Zabka and Ralph Macchio play the roles of the two main leads of the show, Johnny and Daniel respectively; the same actors as in Karate Kid movies. In the season 1 finale, we also see the infamous sensei of Cobra Kai dojo make a return, John Kresse.

The Netflix Original focuses more on Johnny Lawrence, portraying the struggles he went through after high school. It seems like Barney from How I Met Your Mother finally got to see his childhood hero get the recognition he deserved.

Which other actors from the movies appeared on Cobra Kai?

Cobra Kai has also been witness to many other cameos from various actors from the movie franchise it is following. Randee Heller, who played the role of Daniel’s mother, made a return to the show. We also got to see Ron Thomas, Rob Garrison, and Tony O’Dell appear on the show when Jhonny visited them in season 2.

In season 3 of the show, there was a carnival of returning characters as Daniel traveled back to Okinawa. Tamlyn Tomita reprised her role as Kumiko, Daniel’s summer love interest. Yuji Okumoto returned as that film’s adversary, Chozen. The creators also managed to get Traci Togushi, the girl ringing the bell in the storm.

But the biggest revelation of season 3 was Elisabeth Shue. They were teasing her arrival ever since the first season when Daniel found her Facebook and eventually added her as a friend. Shue’s character arrived in Reseda during Christmas in season 3 and made up with both Johnny and Daniel.

Who else is returning to Cobra Kai from Karate Kid?

We have confirmed it with a clip that Thomas Ian Griffith will return as Terry Silver in Cobra Kai Season 4. Silver first appeared in the movie The Karate Kid Part III.

Only time will tell who else makes their way to Cobra Kai from Karate Kid.

You can stream Cobra Kai Season 4 on Netflix now.