Elisabeth Shue returned to the “Karate Kid” franchise.
Since the first meeting with the audience in the 1984 teen martial arts classic, Shue has starred in films such as “Adventures in Babysitting” (1987), won an Oscar nomination for “Leaving Las Vegas” (1995) and appeared in hit series as “CSI” and “The Boys”.
But fans of “Cobra Kai” – the Netflix series continuing the “Karate Kid” saga – were pleasantly surprised when their third season arrived on January 1st.
Shue returned for a couple of episodes like Ali Mills, the woman at the center of the initial conflict between Daniel LaRusso of Ralph Macchio and Johnny Lawrence of William Zabka in the Oscar-nominated original by John G. Avildsen, “Karate Kid”.
“It was interesting to think about college meetings,” said Shue. “You know, you come back to a high school meeting and that person was in high school, that’s how people remember you, so you go out and live your life. And then you come back and you’re like, ‘Oh, who am I now?’ and ‘How are you seeing me now?’ “
That sense of self-discovery in Ali, said Shue, reflected his own experience of returning to the role that launched his film career.
“I feel like Lisa, when I came on the set, I had to face, ‘Who am I now? Am I Ali? Am I that girl who just started? Who am I?’ “she explained.” So it was great that it mirrored my life and Ali’s life, almost exactly the same. “
More ‘Cobra Kai’: William Zabka, Martin Kove talk about Season 3 on Netflix
The third season of “Cobra Kai” continues the difficult relationship of decades between former college rivals Johnny and Daniel, while each shares the life and karate lessons of his youth for better and worse for a new generation.
As well as the memory of Noriyuki’s iconic mentor “Pat” Morita, Miyagi, hovers over “Cobra Kai”, Ali did so, according to co-writer and executive producer Hayden Schlossberg.
“Sir. Miyagi is a big part of Daniel’s character journey during the course of the show, but ‘Ali with an i’ is the original source of the rivalry between Daniel and Johnny, and we’ve referred to it over the years,” said Schlossberg . “And so, from the beginning, we knew that we would want to bring her, that we wanted her to be a force for good in terms of bringing them together again at this crucial time.”
Decades have passed since Johnny and Daniel clashed with Ali’s affection, but Shue said his connections with Zabka and Macchio have remained intact.
“I felt that my relationship with the guys was exactly the same, nothing had changed,” she said. “I was still punching them in the shoulder and still laughing at the same things we were laughing at that time. But I would say that there is a deep appreciation for each other and for the experience of our first film being ‘The Karate Kid’. … Just a lot of admiration for each other and a lot of respect and being very grateful to have been our first. “
Shue’s return also reinforced the inherent ness of New Jersey that has been part of the franchise since its inception. After all, Avildsen’s film opens in Newark and tells the story of Daniel, a boy from Jersey, adapting to life across the country. There he meets Ali, played by Shue, an actress who grew up in South Orange.
“Cobra Kai”, in turn, was written and produced by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Schlossberg. Heald, the writer for the “Hot Tub Time Machine” franchise, grew up in Middletown, while Randolph’s Hurwitz and Schlossberg created the hit series “Harold and Kumar”.
“I always think that the people of Jersey are very grounded, people who are not (bad words excluded),” said Shue. “… There is something about his attitude that I think helps to keep all the characters in that kind of real and authentic vein.”
Heald, Hurwitz and Schlossberg balance a sweet and genuine enthusiasm for the “Karate Kid” franchise with a bold desire to delve deeper into the inner life of their characters and complex legacies.
And while “Cobra Kai” has been consistently inquisitive about Johnny de Zabka and Daniel de Macchio in addition to the simple “villain” and “hero” labels, Season 3 expands the scope of the analysis thanks to his work with Ali de Shue, the sensei haunted and antagonistic of Martin Kove John Kreese and other recurring characters throughout the history of the series.
“We met at a time with many extremes, and in our society many people (are) having extreme views,” said Hurwitz. “There is a lot of anger and frustration in the world, and I think many of us don’t relate to extremes in general and we just want something that is good and that seems to be for everyone. … When you watch the show, it looks like it is for you because this is intentional.
“This is a show for everyone to enjoy and that explores different types of perspectives and philosophies, but in the most fun and karate-centered way.”
The first two seasons of the Emmy nominee “Cobra Kai” debuted on YouTube Red in 2018 before being re-released on Netflix last August, followed by the third season to start 2021.
Season 4 work is in its early stages, with almost all episodes written and filming expected to begin with the COVID-19 security protocols in place earlier this year.
The series connected with fans, with Deadline reporting last week about Netflix’s projection of 41 million families who watched Season 3 in its first 28 days. Approximately 73 million families have so far transmitted part of the “Cobra Kai”, according to the report.
Shue, in part, attributes the success of “Cobra Kai” to its intergenerational appeal.
“People in my age group and a little younger who grew up with ‘The Karate Kid’ want to revisit that time in their lives and introduce it to their children,” she said. “I know that my daughter Agnes (14 years old) is obsessed and loves all children, boys, loves history.
“She just laughs out loud at the whole thing. She’s laughing and then she’s on the Internet looking at all the TikToks from different guys and she’s obsessed, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m involved in it. So I think it’s rare, that both generations can experience it together. ”
In addition, there is something to be said about “Cobra Kai” as a comfortable view during the pandemic, as it tells its story, both warmly nostalgic and dramatically fascinating, in a well-constructed format.
“The pandemic forces us to be more isolated and maybe we are looking at our lives a little more and we are more inward about our lives because there is not much going on,” said Shue. “And then the show kind of mirrors this wonderful view of our lives when we were in high school and how dramatic it used to be and how exciting it was to just turn the corner and see if the quarterback would say hello to you.
“People’s high school years (years), we all miss that, that drama of human interaction. There is no time when it is more dramatic than in high school. He captures this in an excellent way and maybe we are all wishing for more interaction in general and drama. “
The first three seasons of “Cobra Kai” are now broadcast on Netflix. For more information, visit netflix.com/CobraKai.
Alex Biese has been writing about art, entertainment, culture and news at the local and national level for over 15 years.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: ‘Cobra Kai’: Elisabeth Shue talks about returning to the ‘Karate Kid’ series