Karate Kid III Villain to Appear in Cobra Kai Season 5

Karate’s bad boy is heading to Cobra Kai.

Sean Kanan, who played martial arts rebel Mike Barnes in 1989’s The Karate Kid Part III, will appear on season five of the Netflix hit series, premiering Sept. 9.

The arrival of Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) former foe was hinted at in the finale of season four, when Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) told a soon-to-be incarcerated Kreese (Martin Kove) that he was preparing to “call a couple old Cobra Kai buddies to help out while you’re gone.”

In Karate Kid Part III, Silver hired Mike to defeat Daniel at the All Valley Under-18 Karate Championships tournament, before ultimately losing, flying into a rage and getting the Cobra Kai dojo banned from the tournament. 

Fast forward to present day and it appears old habits die hard.

“Following the shocking results of the All Valley Tournament, season five finds Terry Silver expanding the Cobra Kai empire and trying to make his ‘No Mercy’ style of karate the only game in town,” the streamer teased. “With Kreese behind bars and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) setting karate aside to focus on repairing the damage he’s caused, Daniel LaRusso must call on an old friend for help.”