On September 6, 2020, Cobra Kai creator Jon Hurwitz confirmed that the third season of the new Netflix original series has been filmed, edited, and is ready to hit the airwaves. Although a release date is still up in the air, the show is poised to return sometime in 2021.
Story-wise, the third season of Cobra Kai is traveling to Okinawa, Japan to reflect events that transpired in the 1986 feature film, The Karate Kid Part II. In the sequel, Daniel-San visits Mr. Miyagi’s hometown in Okinawa, where he falls in love with a local girl named Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) and does battle with her jealous ex-boyfriend Chozen (Yuji Okumoto). In anticipation of Cobra Kai 3, here are 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Karate Kid Part II.
10 Rushed Production
Following the surprising success of the original Karate Kid film in 1984, which grossed more than $90 million on an investment budget of $8 million, Columbia sought to strike while the iron was hot by rushing into production on a sequel.
As a result, production on The Karate Kid Part II began just 10 days after the original film was released in theaters on June 22, 1984. Although little time was wasted between the two productions, The Karate Kid Part II was not released in theaters until June 20, 1986.
9 Conflicted Concept
When it came time to conceive of a story for the sequel, the writers and producers were at odds with the direction to take. Some favored the idea of exploring Mr. Miyagi’s (Pat Morita) homeland in Okinawa, Japan while others wanted to focus on John Kreese’s (Martin Kove) revenge.
In the end, a compromise was made. Producers agreed to keep the Miyagi storyline for Part II as long as the Kreese vengeance plot was the basis for Karate Kid Part III.
8 Opening Scene
The opening scene of John Kreese verbally abusing Johnny (William Zabka) was originally written to take place at the end of the original Karate Kid. Contrary to popular belief, the scene was written for the original but was not specifically for the sequel. The same goes for the shots of Daniel taking a shower.
Upon losing the tournament to Daniel, Kreese abuses Johnny in the parking lot and break his second-place trophy. Mr. Miyagi confronts Kreese, who in turn attacks Miyagi. However, Miyagi easily subdues Kreese, who throws his hands into two car windows as Miyagi sidesteps his punches. Miyagi makes Kreese look like a fool by clinching his nose and making a clown-noise.
7 Kreese’s Bloody Knuckles
Speaking of Kreese’s bloodied knuckles, actor Martin Kove claims that the gore seen in the film is 100% real. Kove maintains that an on-set accident led to him really punching the car windows with severely injured hands.
Kreese also admits that the injuries captured on film are the takes used in the final cut of the movie. However, it is not clear whether Kove injured his hands while striking the windows or if he sustained the wounds elsewhere on the set prior to shooting the scene.
6 Filmed In Oahu, Hawaii
Although the story takes place in Okinawa, The Karate Kid Part II was filmed on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The location was chosen due to its similar climate, landscapes, large Okinawan population, and close proximity to the U.S. mainland.
Since much of Okinawa was populated by several military bases, filming was primarily done on the northeastern “windward” side of the island. To duplicate the Okinawan village, accurate replicas of seven houses in the area were constructed. Three acres of native crops were planted and roughly 50 Okinawan locals were chosen to play extras.
5 Elisabeth Shue’s Absence
Elisabeth Shue famously took a break from her studies at Harvard University to make the original Karate Kid film. When the sequel rushed into production, Shue declined to reprise her role as Ali so she could return to Harvard.
In the original screenplay for The Karate Kid Part II, a scene at the beginning involved Ali breaking up with Daniel at the airport before she goes on summer vacation in Europe. In the end, the writer’s scrapped the idea when Shue refused to reprise her role. However, Daniel still mentions to Mr. Miyagi that Ali left him for a UCLA football player in the film.
4 Tamlyn Tomita’s Film Debut
Daniel’s Japanese love interest in the film, Yukio, is played by Okinawan-born actress Tamlyn Tomita in her feature film debut. In addition to beginning a career as an actress, Tomita met a lifelong friend on the set.
During production, Tomita became extremely close with actress Nobu McCarthy, who plays Yukie, Sato’s (Danny Kamekona) wife. McCarthy, who also played Pat Morita’s fiancee Momo in Happy Days, became a mentor to Tomita for years following their time on The Karate Kid II. In 2002, McCarthy suddenly passed away while filming a movie with Tomita in Brazil, deeply affecting Tamlyn.
3 Franchise References
A couple of subtle references can be seen and heard in The Karate Kid Part II that directly relate to the original film, as well as the fourth franchise entry, The Next Karate Kid.
When Daniel and Mr. Miyagi are being taxied to the airport, the song playing on the radio is “Fascination Waltz.” This is the same piece of music used in the country club dinner scene in The Karate Kid. Later, when Daniel nearly tips over the wheelbarrow, a character named Ichiro (Arsenio Trinidad) comes over to help. Trinidad also plays one of the Abbots in The Next Karate Kid.
2 Miyagi’s Mysterious Relative
In addition to the airport breakup scene with Ali and Daniel, another scene nixed from the original screenplay for The Karate Kid Part II involved the presence of one of Mr. Miyagi’s mysterious family members.
In the original draft, a mysterious man named Webster Miyagi suddenly approaches Mr. Miyagi as he leaves the All Valley Karate Tournament building. The reason for the man’s presence is not made known, but Mr. Miyagi reacts to him negatively.
1 Bigger Box-Office Success Than Original
Although a free screening was held across the U.S. on July 4, 1986, The Karate Kid Part II still went on to out-gross it’s predecessor. All told, this is the highest-grossing film in the franchise to date.
With an estimated budget of $13 million, The Karate Kid went on to gross more than $115 million in accumulated worldwide grosses. In comparison, the original Karate Kid grosses roughly $90 million against an $8 million budget. The Karate Kidd Part III grossed $38 million, while The Next Karate Kid netted just $15 million.
