FAQ

Apart from the fact that "Karate Kid " was a great movie , I would say no, you don't have to.

Through in-show fillers it informs you what went on and why some things happen!

Short answer: No.

According to the producers, anything that takes place in the Miyagi-verse is canon to the series and has been discussed. "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."

They have discussed adding Julie Pierce, played by Hillary Swank in The Next Karate Kid, to the show. "In our writers' room we speak about literally every character that has appeared in the Miyagi-verse, 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. 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."

However, they have dismissed adding anyone from the 2010 remake including Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). "I will say that the Jaden Smith/Jackie Chan universe is a different one than what you see on Cobra Kai. Jackie Chan is mentioned in season one of the show as a human, so I think in our world, Jackie Chan is an actor and a performer. If the characters on our show have seen a movie called The Karate Kid, they've seen that one." In addition to having nothing to do with Mr. Miyagi, the remake feature Chinese kung fu rather than Japanese karate.

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