As legends of the Karate Child universe had been reprised for streaming and the large display, one former Mr. Miyagi protégé hasn’t been seen in additional than 30 years.
Josh Heald, who co-created Netflix‘s Cobra Kai with Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, revealed that they tried to get Hilary Swank to reprise her The Subsequent Karate Child (1994) position as Julie Pierce within the latest sixth and closing season.
“We did attain out within the very early days earlier than the season to see if there was a path [for her to appear],” he instructed Leisure Weekly. “We had an inkling of an thought about how she may come into this story and never must decide to 10 episodes or one thing.
The trio reached out to Swank’s workforce with “the beginnings of a genesis of an thought” about how Julie may return to the onscreen universe, hoping to “have a dialogue along with her about it and introduce ourselves.”
“On her finish, it was very respectful, however we by no means obtained that chance to sit down down and pour our coronary heart out the best way that we sometimes do after we deliver again characters from the legacy,” stated Heald.
Pat Morita and Hilary Swank in ‘The Subsequent Karate Child’ (1994) (Columbia Photos/Courtesy Everett Assortment)
The 2x Oscar-winning actress “was simply in a spot the place she wasn’t wanting to do this,” stated Heald, including that she gave them “a respectful cross on the concept of even a gathering.”
“She didn’t need us to undergo the difficulty of flying out to her and placing our coronary heart on the sleeve,” he defined. “As a result of it simply wasn’t one thing she was able to do at that second.”
Heald sees the character as “a giant piece of the Miyagi-verse that’s nonetheless on the market” following this yr’s Karate Child: Legends, which introduced again Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han and William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence.
“For us, it was just a little disappointing as a result of we like getting everyone, however on the identical time, we didn’t sacrifice any large story that we had absolutely developed,” added Heald. “It’s extra fruit on the vine for if we are able to revisit this universe going ahead.”
