We Do Not Train To Be Merciful Here

Mercy Is For The Weak. Here, In The Streets, In Competition: A Man Confronts You, He Is The Enemy. An Enemy Deserves No Mercy.

Following Martin Kove’s legendary appearance in the Season 1 finale of YouTube Red’s Cobra Kai, the Karate Kid alum is joining the cast of YouTube Red’s Karate Kid sequel show as a series regular for the online sequel’s second season. He will continue to reprise his villainous Karate Kid character of Sensei John Kreese.

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Sweep the leg. Do you have a problem with that?

Speaking to Forbes, Kove said the plan is for Kreese to be a large part of both seasons two and three. He says:

“Well, Ralph Macchio, Billy Zabka and I have now been friends for 30 years. They came to me last September, we had dinner at Dan Tana’s in Los Angeles, they told me that they wanted me to come in on the 10th episode of the series, that I would be a surprise and that I’d become a regular in seasons two and three. When Kreese turns up, the audience has no idea what he’s been up to. They basically think he’s dead. I’d been sworn to secrecy about this whole show. These writers on Cobra Kai are intelligent. These three men know more about our characters than we ever did and they convinced me to it. As much as I did not want to just drop in on episode 10, they made it make sense to me. It’s such a great show and I would be amazed if we don’t get picked up for a third season.”

In the last episode of Cobra Kai‘s first season, Kove’s Kreese – who was presumed dead – turned up at the dojo, much to the surprise of former student Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). The duo’s previous onscreen meeting was in the opening scene of The Karate Kid Part II, in which Kreese was choking out Johnny after he lost to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) in the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament.

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Cobra Kai has been a hugely popular hit for YouTube. Since its debut on May 4, the first episode has generated over 20 million views. Season 2 is set to debut in 2019.