Following the events of 1984’s “The Karate Kid” over 30 years ago, the Cobra Kai series that premiered in May 2018 on YouTube follows the lives of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). ). Its first two seasons achieved great popularity among all fans of these stories, which the Netflix platform obtained permissions for in 2020. However, none of this would have happened thanks to the role played by actor Will Smith.
Popular actor Will Smith is known for series and movies such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, “Men in Black” and “Independence Day”, becoming an icon of pop culture. But, in 2010, his son Jaden Smith, made a reboot of Karate Kid with the same title, although it was widely accepted due to the participation of Jackie Chan, it failed to obtain a sequel.
However, Smith’s production company, Overbrook Entertainment, owns all the rights to the Karate Kid franchise, so when Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald and Hayden Schlossberg wanted to make the show for the YouTube platform, surely a deal was made for Smith to be the executive producer due to his position with the company.
That’s right, the name of Will Smith can be seen in all the credits of the Cobra Kai series as its executive producer, being a very important role due to its financing and agreements to approve the different stories that happen in the series that streaming now Netflix platform.
Interestingly, in 2019 Smith posted on his official Instagram account an image of a mural inspired by the popular show, highlighting his and his company’s appreciation of producing Cobra Kai for YouTube. Although Netflix took control of the show in 2020, the actor is still the executive producer, for which many fans are grateful to him.
Currently Cobra Kai continues to be broadcast on the Netflix platform and a season 5 has been approved, as the series has a critical rating of more than 95% and an audience score of 91%. Which means fans will get to see more of Daniel and Johnny’s story alongside the new generation.
