Cobra Kai season 5 concept poster – Picture: letsbewater/Instagram
Cobra Kai season 5 is coming to Netflix globally on September 9th. Here’s your updated preview of everything we know about the fifth season of Cobra Kai, including what we can expect, who’s going to star, trailers, first-look screenshots, and more.
As far as Netflix continuations go, Cobra Kai has already become one of Netflix’s most successful, comparable to the likes of Lucifer and Money Heist.
The series already had a large and loyal fanbase from its time as a YouTube Red/Original series, but once the series jumped to Netflix, its popularity skyrocketed.
When is the Cobra Kai season 5 release date on Netflix?
Netflix has confirmed that season 5 of Cobra Kai is coming to Netflix on September 9th, 2022
Check out our release time guide here if you’re wondering what time you’ll need to stay up to watch the show. The show is added at midnight in Los Angeles.
The announcement of the date came as part of a live event held at Netflix’s Netflix is a Joke festival in Los Angeles. A special show for Cobra Kai was held at the Microsoft Theater on May 5th, 2022.
Most importantly for Cobra Kai fans, we got the release date for season 5 as well as several new screens of the upcoming season:
Cobra Kai Season 5 Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver Peyton List as Tory Nichols in Cobra Kai
Cobra Kai L to R Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso Yuji Okumoto as Chozen in Cobra Kai
Cobra Kai Season 5 Production Timeline
Josh Heald has stated that the writer’s room convened to write the fifth season as early as July 2021.
Filming began on September 20th, 2021, and wrapped up by December 19th, 2021.
Cobra Kai co-creators Jon Hurwitz and Josh Heald posted a photo confirming the news of them wrapping the fifth season on Twitter along with the caption “Five. Fin.”
Five. Fin. #ByeAtlanta #CobraKai – Picture: Jon Hurwitz
Once again, most of the show was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia. However, we’ll be traveling this season since we’ll see Miguel searching for his father in Mexico. Jon Hurwitz has since confirmed that those portions of season 5 were filmed in Puerto Rico.
Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg are both confirmed to be directing episodes this season.
Post-production then kicked off and in early March 2022, we got a Tweet from Zach Robinson (long-time composer of the show) that they were deep into producing the score for the fifth season.
The Tweet on March 3rd, 2022, revealed that they were in the process of scoring episodes 1 through 3 and that he and Leo Birenberg are both returning.
Good morning from me and @leobirenberg pic.twitter.com/EDWNpvlWfW
— Zach Robinson (@zachrobinson) March 3, 2022
On April 17th, in an impromptu Twitter AMA, Jon Hurwitz updated us on season 5, saying:
“S5 is fully edited and awesome! Still mixing the second half and working on the score with our composers. Loving some new musical themes!”
Once the score has been concluded alongside editing, it’ll be handed over to Netflix for localization, translating subtitles, and recording dubs for dozens of languages.
What to expect from Cobra Kai Season 5
Let’s begin with the official synopsis for the fifth season:
“Following the shocking results of the All Valley Tournament, Season 5 finds Terry Silver expanding the Cobra Kai empire and trying to make his “No Mercy” style of karate the only game in town. With Kreese behind bars and Johnny Lawrence setting karate aside to focus on repairing the damage he’s caused, Daniel LaRusso must call on an old friend for help.”
Terry Silver takes over Cobra Kai and the Valley
With Kreese framed for the assault of Sting Ray, Terry Silver is free to completely take over Cobra Kai and spread the vision he’s had for the dojo.
With multiple new Cobra Kai dojos expected to appear all over the Valley, expect a significant rise in new students, which could lead to hostilities between Cobra Kai and the students of rival dojos.
Hurwitz has stated that in season 5, we get to see Silver’s plans “fully realized,” adding that he’ll be expanding the Cobra Kai franchise.
Terry Silver in season 5 of Cobra Kai – Picture: Curtis Bonds Baker / Netflix
Miyagi Do goes to war with Cobra Kai (Again)
Unable to come to terms with the dishonorable way Cobra Kai set out to win the All Valley Tournament, Daniel LaRusso will go against his own word and continue teaching students at his Miyagi-Do dojo.
To aid his fight against Cobra Kai, Daniel has enlisted the help of Chozen Toguchi, his old enemy and new friend, who is currently the sensei of Miyagi-Do karate in Okinawa.
Cobra Kai. (L to R) William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence, Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, Yuji Okumoto as Chozen Toguchi in Cobra Kai. Cr. Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix © 2022
In an interview with TV Line, executive producer Josh Heald had the following to say about Chozen’s upcoming return in Cobra Kai season 5:
We obviously know that Chozen’s coming back into the fold, and Daniel, who we find at the ultimate depth of his loss, is feeling defeated and feeling like he made a deal with the devil. He’s realizing that to allow Miyagi-Do to be extinguished this way doesn’t sit well. There are times where the fight has to change, and what better moment than for Chozen to come back into this story and to lean into that part of Miyagi-Do. Chozen is somebody who ties into the more aggressive past where fighting wasn’t about a contest, it was about life and death. He still feels like he owes Daniel some help, and he wants to make amends even though Daniel has forgiven him. From that alone, I feel like audiences can infer the energy with which Season 5 is going to begin. There are quite a bit of storylines that start spinning very fast and very aggressively as we enter next season.
Anthony Learns Karate?
After Anthony’s relentless bullying of new-kid Kenny, he tried to make amends with the Cobra Kai student at the All Valley tournament, only for his bullied state his intent to become the bully when they graduate to high school.
Daniel was prepared to begin teaching Anthony karate and to defend himself against Kenny; Anthony may have no choice but to learn Karate.
Speaking to AfterBuzz TV Griffin Santopietro spoke about his character’s upcoming season saying:
“One of my favorite things about next season is that you see Anthony is continuing to grow as a person. He feels bad for what he did to Kenny.”
Is it finally time for Anthony to learn Miyagi-Do karate? – Copyright. Sony Pictures Television Studios
Robby and Tory to leave Cobra Kai?
Despite switching sides, Robby has tried to find the middle ground between the philosophies of Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai. His tragic realization that his mentoring of Kenny has led to the creation of a bully, and one who intends to bully his ex-girlfriend’s little brother, has led the young man to seek the support of his dad.
Johnny will definitely encourage Robby to leave Cobra Kai, however, feeling guilty, Robby may stay with the dojo to make up for his mistakes by tutoring Kenny.
As for Tory, the woman’s champion of the All Valley overheard Terry paying off the referee, which completely tainted her victory. Just like Robby, she will find herself at a crossroads, which may lead her to leave Cobra Kai.
Cobra Kai. (L to R) Joe Seo as Kyler, Dallas Dupree Young as Kenny in Cobra Kai. Cr. Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix © 2022
Miguel finds his father
Unbeknownst to Miguel, he is completely unaware that his biological father doesn’t know he exists. On top of being a “bad man,” if Miguel finds his father, he could be opening a door in his life that he can never close again.
Johnny intends to go to Mexico City to find his young student. Still, knowing Johnny, he’ll get himself into all kinds of trouble, especially if there is a confrontation with Miguel’s father.
If Johnny can convince Miguel to return home, expect Miguel’s father to follow just behind.
Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai Season 5 – Picture: Curtis Bonds Baker / Netflix
Kreese behind bars
Kreese has been framed for the assault of Sting Ray, and ironically the only person who may be able to save the Cobra Kai sensei is former student Johnny Lawrence. Johnny was the victim of an assault by Terry Silver, so once he returns from Mexico, he may be the only hope Kreese has of getting out of jail.
Martin Kove as John Kreese in Cobra Kai. Cr. Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix © 2022
Who are the cast members of Cobra Kai season 5?
We fully expect the vast majority of the cast of season 4 to make a return in Cobra Kai season 5:
Who is in Miyagi-Do for season 5? (+ LaRusso Family)
| Role | Cast Member |
|---|---|
| Daniel LaRusso | Ralph Macchio |
| Amanda LaRusso | Courtney Henggeler |
| Chozen Toguchi | Yuji Okumoto |
| Samantha LaRusso | Mary Mouser |
| Demetri | Gianni DeCenzo |
| Hawk | Jacob Bertrand |
| Anthony LaRusso | Griffin Santopietro |
| Chris | Khalol Everage |
| Nathaniel | Nathaniel Oh |
| Abe | Jayden Rivers |
| Lil Red | Shane Donovan Lewis |
| Frank | Cameron Markeles |
| Stiven | Tony Vo |
Who is in Eagle Fang Karate for Cobra Kai Season 5?
| Role | Cast Member |
|---|---|
| Johnny Lawrence | William Zabka |
| Miguel Diaz | Xolo Maridueña |
| Mitch | Aedin Mincks |
| Bert | Owen Morgan |
| Dirk | Xander Serrano |
| Devon | Oona O’Brien |
Who will be in Cobra Kai for Season 5?
| Role | Cast Member |
|---|---|
| Terry Silver | Thomas Ian Griffith |
| John Kreese | Martin Kove |
| Robby Keene | Tanna Buchanan |
| Tory Nichols | Peyton List |
| Kyler Park | Joe Seo |
| Kenny Payne | Dallas Young |
| Piper | Selah Austria |
| Mikey | Chris Schmidt Jr. |
| Edwin | A.J. Hicks |
| Big Red | Christopher Ryan Lewis |
| Stingray | Paul Walter Hauser |
Cobra Kai. (L to R) Gianni DeCenzo as Demetri, Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene, Griffin Santopietro as Anthony LaRusso, Jacob Bertrand as Eli ‘Hawk’ Moskowitz, Aedin Mincks as Mitch, Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso, Nathaniel Oh as Nate, Khalil Everage as Chris in Cobra Kai. Cr. Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix © 2022
Casting News
The first major new casting news for season 5 came on August 9th, 2022, announcing that Terry’s old student Mike Barnes would be returning for the new season.
Cobra Kai. Sean Kanan as Mike Barnes in Cobra Kai. Cr. Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix © 2022
On the possibility of new faces showing up in Cobra Kai season 5, Jon Hurwitz has said:
“There’s a lot of insanity; if you’re a fan of the franchise, maybe some familiar faces show up, maybe not; there’s going to be a lot of karate.”
Alicia Hannah-Kim will be playing the role of Kim Da-Eun this season who was cast in May 2022. Kim is fighting for the dark side (Cobra Kai). After getting John Kreese (Martin Kove) out of the way and rigging the results of the All Valley Tournament in Season 4, Silver will stop at nothing to win.
Alicia Hannah-Kim as Kim Da-Eun in Cobra Kai. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022
EJ Sanchez will play the role of Luis in season 5.
We’ll also see new stunt performers in the series, including Steven John Brown, Zack Duhame, Jorge Longoria, and Tony Sre.
Has Cobra Kai been renewed for a sixth season?
At the time of writing, Netflix has yet to announce whether or not Cobra Kai has been renewed for a sixth season. The renewal for the fifth season was announced when Netflix revealed the season 4 release date.
If a sixth season is in the works, then we suspect we’ll learn of the renewal around the time we learn the Cobra Kai season 5 release date.
It must also be noted that Netflix has not claimed ahead of time that season 5 is the last of the show, which heavily suggests we’ll get more of Cobra Kai beyond the fifth season.
Speaking to Deadline about the possibility of a sixth season recently, Hayden Schlossberg said:
“We have an end in mind. How many seasons it takes to get there, we don’t know. We’re enjoying making it so much. If it gets tiring to us, we’ll stop before that; we have a few more seasons already planned out.”
We have heard multiple times the creators have planned six seasons of the show, so hopefully, they get to fulfill that dream.
We'd like to do at least 6 seasons of Cobra Kai. #CobraKai https://t.co/eHCC4ZLTlB
— Jon Hurwitz (@jonhurwitz) May 9, 2020
We should also note lots of rumors (including some from a few good sources) that there have been or is still plans for a spinoff for Cobra Kai. Specifically, we’ve heard rumblings of a prequel series for Miyagi.
On April 17th Hurwitz teased upcoming projects, saying:
“Josh, Hayden, and I have a company together called Counterbalance Entertainment. We’ve got lots of fun in store beyond Cobra Kai, both inside and out of the Miyagiverse. Should have some fun stuff to announce soon!”
We will be seeing more projects from the Cobra Kai creators on Netflix. As we first reported, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald are prepping their next project Obliterated for Netflix, which moved to the streaming service from TBS, where it was originally announced in late 2019.
That’s currently filming over the course of summer 2022, so don’t expect a quick production timeline for season 6 of Cobra Kai.
Are you looking forward to the fifth season of Cobra Kai on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
Netflix Synopsis: "Bitter enemies. Warring dojos. New blood. Daniel and Johnny reignite old West Valley rivalries in this follow-up series to the "Karate Kid" films."
