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Strike first, strike hard, no mercy. This is the creed of the Cobra Kai dojo, and the MO of the creators who revived Karate Kid after three decades. Jon Hurwitz, co-creator of the sequel show, has shared the sizzle reel that helped successfully land the production, as well as why AC/DC became so meaningful to the series.
Posting on Twitter, Hurwitz revealed the mock trailer used by himself, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald to help shop Cobra Kai around. The short edit combines clips from Karate Kid as well as various other movies Ralph Macchio and William Zabka were involved with, and some choice songs to demonstrate the tone the revival would have.
EXCLUSIVE: Check out the Mock Trailer that helped us sell Cobra Kai!In 2017, we had the daunting task of trying to explain to buyers in Hollywood what we envisioned Cobra Kai to look and feel like. Sure, we had a detailed pitch and Ralph Macchio and William Zabka joining us in… pic.twitter.com/gFqQ1yuudoFebruary 27, 2025
As Hurwitz explains, since they were pitching something with no original footage, the objective of a short edit like this is to capture the vibe and aesthetic of what they want the end product to look like. It’s pretty remarkable how close this feels to Cobra Kai overall, but then, that just demonstrates how deeply the creative team knew the project.
Jeff Yorkes, a seasoned editor who also co-created The Muppets Mayhem, helped piece the video together. The version shared includes a nod to Netflix, who picked up Cobra Kai from the third season after YouTube handled the first two, and Hurwitz adds that screen was changed depending on the platform they were pitching to.
‘Thunderstuck’ by AC/DC echoes through the back half, leading to the creators to become obsessed with Angus Young’s crackling riff and Brian Johnson’s anthemic chant. Licensing the rock powerhouse isn’t cheap, though, and it wasn’t until the sixth season they were able to squeeze it into the budget.
If ever there was a perfect song for Johnny and Miguel retrieving Cobra Kai, it’s that, so all’s well that ends well. Cobra Kai finished in February this year, with an upcoming movie, Karate Kid: Legends starring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, set to continue the franchise.
