Summary

Ralph Macchio announced he has wrapped filming on both
Cobra Kai
Season 6 and
The Karate Kid
(2025).
In addition, Macchio celebrated the 40th anniversary of the original
Karate Kid
(1984) in the same social media post.
William Zabka also honored
The Karate Kid,
which opened in theaters on June 22, 1984.

As the famed Crane-kicking saying goes, “Cobra Kai never dies.” And while the wildly popular Karate Kid spin-off series will sadly come to an end in 2025, after its sixth season, Ralph Macchio will continue to portray the original film’s titular character in a brand-new movie starring alongside The Karate Kid (2010) reimagining’s star, Jackie Chan. Yesterday, as The Karate Kid (1984) celebrated its 40th anniversary, Macchio announced that he has wrapped filming on Netflix’s Cobra Kai and the new Karate Kid. Macchio posted (via Instagram):

“On this day, June 22, 1984,
the world met Daniel LaRusso.
Happy 40th Anniversary to The Karate Kid.
Looking ahead to one of the most exciting years yet!
Just wrapped @CobraKaiSeries and the new @KarateKidMovie
Epic stuff on the way! #KarateKid #CobraKaiSeries by @xolo_mariduena”

Macchio portrayed Daniel LaRusso a total of three times on the big screen within the confines of his Karate Kid trilogy (1984-1989). And in 2018, the actor first reprised the role on what was then YouTube Original’s Cobra Kai. And in five seasons, Macchio has portrayed the character in 50 episodes, which now stream on Netflix. Check out Macchio’s Instagram post in its entirety below:

William Zabka Also Honors The Karate Kid’s 40th Anniversary

Last November, news broke that Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan would team up in a brand-new Karate Kid film. And while fans must wait until next summer to see what director Jonathan Entwistle’s big-screen versions of Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Han (Chan) will look like together, another familiar face from the franchise, William Zabka, also took to social media in honor of The Karate Kid’s 40th anniversary. Zabka wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter:

“On this day, in the summer of ‘84
Johnny Lawrence and his buddies went to the beach
and their lives were changed forever.
Happy 40th anniversary to The Karate Kid!
The story continues
July 18th @CobraKaiSeries
@netflix #KarateKid #CobraKai”

Related Netflix Unveil’s Cobra Kai Season 6 Trailer – With Epic Episode Count Split into 3 Parts Cobra Kai will come to a conclusion in an epic three-part event, with 15 new episodes making up Season 6. Part 1 arrives this summer.

While Johnny Lawrence (Zabka) was portrayed primarily as a villain in the 1984 classic, the Cobra Kai television series brilliantly expanded the karate student’s character development, making Johnny one of the most beloved and intriguing personas on the Netflix series. And since Zabka has made no mention of appearing in Macchio and Chan’s upcoming Karate Kid film, it seems likely that Johnny’s journey will come to an end following the 15-episode final season of Cobra Kai.

The Karate Kid movie opens in theaters on May 30, 2025. And Part 1 (first five episodes) of Cobra Kai Season 6 drops July 18 exclusively on Netflix.

Check out Zabka’s X post celebrating
The Karate Kid’s
40th anniversary below: