Original 'Karate Kid' Stars Reunite for Sequel TV Series

With nostalgia and reboots en vogue right now, it was only a matter of time before someone swept [...]

With nostalgia and reboots en vogue right now, it was only a matter of time before someone swept the leg and crane-kicked an update to 1984 classic, The Karate Kid.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, YouTube Red has ordered a 10-episode, straight-to-series called, Cobra Kai. The series is set to debut in 2018 and will feature the original Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso being reprised by Ralph Macchio, as well as his nemesis from the film, Johnny Lawrence, reprised by William Zabka.

The series has been in development for some time and was shopped to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and AMC before ultimately landing at the subscription service.

The initial reports suggest that the show will advance the storyline to be approximately 30 years after the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament where Lawrence will still be the heel of the local area and in an attempt to reinvent himself he re-opens the Cobra Kai dojo.

LaRusso will have come away from his victory (victories?) over Lawrence to become a successful man that has been struggling to balance his life after the passing of his mentor, Mr. Miyagi (originally played by the late Pat Morita).

The half-hour program will teeter on humor and drama while mixing in karate -- obviously. It will be headed by Josh Heald (Hot Tub Time Machine) as well as the team behind Harold and Kumar, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg.

"Like everyone who grew up in the 1980s, the three of us are enormous fans of The Karate Kid​," Heald, Hurwitz and Schlossberg said in a joint statement. "Cobra Kai​ will be a true continuation of the original films — packed with comedy, heart and thrilling fight scenes. We can't wait to reignite the LaRusso-Lawrence rivalry, and we're thankful to our partners at YouTube Red, Sony Pictures Television and Overbrook for their shared enthusiasm in making our dream project a reality."

YouTube global head of originals Susanne Daniels told THR that there was also a choice made to change the name to Cobra Kai from The Karate Kid.

"If The Karate Kid was Daniel's story, Cobra Kai is equal parts Daniel and Johnny's story," Daniels said. "Also because this is a series and not a movie, we really wanted to reimagine how the story was told. Changing the name made sense as part of that."

Cobra Kai is the next in an expanding line of original programming from YouTube Red, one that includes Step Up, Mind Field, 12 Deadly Days, Sing It and more.

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