‘Cobra Kai’ Star William Zabka Shares Rare Behind-the-Scenes Photos With Elisabeth Shue

Cobra Kai fans were not only excited for the release of Season 3 at the start of the new year, but longtime fans of The Karate Kid movies on which they’re based off were eagerly awaiting the return of Elisabeth Shue, whose character, Ali Mills, was teased to make an appearance since Season 2. With the actress reprising her iconic role from the ’80s in the newly released season, one of the show’s stars, William Zabka, shared a few behind-the-scenes photos of him with Shue.

“Found these shots on my smartphone — so great working with Lisa Shue again,” he wrote as the caption. After being hinted at returning in the Season 3 trailer, Shue’s re-emergence in the Youtube-turned-Netflix series took a little longer than some expected as she finally made her grand return in the penultimate episode. Despite having to wait a little longer, fans were thrilled to see her return and to do so in a way that paid homage to the 1984 Karate Kid film.

Speaking with Yahoo, Zabka said it was a great time to be able to go back and film scenes that brought them back to their younger years. “To kind of recreate those moments was so much fun and we just laughed the whole time,” Zabka, who plays Johnny Lawrence, explained. He went on to say that her return to the franchise wasn’t anything forced; in fact, she was only going to do so if it fit the storyline in a cohesive manner. “She’s a great actress,” Zabka said, “and she took her time and made sure that it made sense. So it was a big deal for her to put Ali back on.”

Shue spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the two episodes she appeared in Season 3 and how everything came about in getting her involved with the series for the first time. Shue, who also is involved with the Amazon Prime superhero series The Boys, said she was impressed with the show’s writing and production after watching the first season and eventually saw an opportunity that made sense for her to be incorporated. Once she get on set, Shue said it was like being transported back to the 80s. “It was so fun to realize that all of our chemistry was exactly the same,” Shue shared. “My chemistry with Ralph was the same, the same with Billy… it was literally like a high school reunion.”

All three seasons of Cobra Kai can be streamed on Netflix. For more on the Netflix hit, its stars and all your favorite shows, keep it locked to PopCulture.com for the latest!