A trailer for an upcoming YouTube Red series is providing an idea of how that show might turn an 80s classic on its head. William Zabka and Ralph Macchio reprise their roles from The Karate Kid in Cobra Kai, which will premiere on May 2 on YouTube Red.
In the original Karate Kid film, Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso is a determined hero, while Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence is a bully who gets kicked in the face. However, as the Cobra Kai trailer indicates, the show show will flip-flop those roles, with Johnny as its protagonist and Daniel as its arrogant, car-salesman villain. Such sly genre bending is right in the wheelhouse of Cobra Kai co-writers Josh Heald, who previously satirized the 80s with 2010’s Hot Tub Time Machine. The other writers on the project are Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg of Harold & Kumar fame.
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Cobra Kai was announced last year. It will launch as a YouTube Red exclusive; the premium subscription service costs $9.99 per month.