Everything old is new again. And hey, as it turns out, that's pretty cool and good.
The Karate Kidstars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka are back starting on May 2 in Cobra Kai. The stars, who reprise their respective roles of Danny LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence in the new YouTube Red series, paid a visit to The Today Showon Tuesday.
SEE ALSO:'Cobra Kai' trailer is here to sweep the leg on your 'Karate Kid' nostalgiaMacchio admitted that he's long been a skeptic of returning to the role that made him famous. "It was always easier, or felt more right, to let the legacy stand on its own and ... not go back to the well and fall short," he said.
Ultimately, it was the creative team that sold him. Executive producers and co-creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg are best known for their Harold and Kumarseries (they also did script work for the recent Blockers). Their fellow executive producer/co-creator Josh Heald, meanwhile, wrote the Hot Tub Time Machinemovies.
"They had a fresh take on how to write for the 'now' generation, but they are the biggest Karate Kidfans. I would say [it's] Star Warsto them," Macchio said.
"They wanted to treat it with respect and [they] found a smart angle in by entering the universe through Johnny Lawrence. What ever happened to this bully at that time? What is he now? [They] made him a human character."
So far, Cobra Kaihas earned largely positive reviews, netting a good score of 72 from review aggregator Metacritic. Variety's review described it as "a thoughtfully modern Karate Kidsequel" and The New Yorker's (somewhat spoiler-y) take classified it as "a teen show for Gen X-ers."
Cobra Kailaunches on May 2 as a YouTube Red original.