Posted in: Netflix, TV | Tagged: cobra kai, elisabeth shue, the karate kid

Cobra Kai: Elisabeth Shue on Concerns She Had Before Ali's Return

Elisabeth Shue was hesitant about reprising her The Karate Kid role as Ali Mills for Cobra Kai Season 3 before hearing the creator's pitch.

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 08:37:06 -0600

by Tom Chang

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Article Summary

Elisabeth Shue was hesitant about returning as Ali in Cobra Kai Season 3 due to past character exit in Karate Kid 2.
Shue discussed concerns with show creators, who promised Ali's return would provide character vindication.
Cobra Kai creators pitched the return by teasing Ali's role as crucial in the Karate Kid universe.
Season 3's Ali scenes allowed Shue to address and add depth to her character's storyline and exit.

Before her surprise return in season three of Cobra Kai, Elisabeth Shue wasn't so sure about reprising her role as Ali Mills, the love interest caught in between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in the original The Karate Kid (1984). The actress, who's made a big splash in the Prime Video franchise The Boys, spoke to fans at Megacon in Orlando (via People) to reflect on her two-episode stint on the Netflix series, which recently wrapped its run with season six, part three released on February 13th.

Cobra Kai: Elizabeth Shue Reflects Concerns Before Ali's S3 Return — Elisabeth Shue in "Cobra Kai." Image courtesy of Netflix.

Elisabeth Shue's Initial Hesitation about Returning for Cobra Kai

After sharing her initial doubts with the audience, Shue added, "Actually, I was a little worried about going on the show at first because I didn't like the way my character had been written out of 'Karate Kid 2.'" The 1986 sequel, which also marked the return of the creative duo in director John G. Avildsen and writer Robert Mark Kamen, wrote off Ali's character with Daniel mentioning that they broke up and mentioned a car crash involving one of Mr. Miyagi's (Pat Morita) cars. so the film could focus on Daniel's relationship with Kumiko (Tamilyn Tomita).

What sold Cobra Kai to Shue was the showrunners Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald's pitch that they "told me that we could discuss what happened — the real truth. It's all about the vindication of Ali. We needed that. Without Ali, there is no Karate Kid. There is no Cobra." Ali was teased throughout season two as Johnny's ex before a cliffhanger tease revealed she sent him a Facebook friend request.

Season three episodes nine and ten, titled "Feel the Night" and "December 19," finally saw Shue make her (only) triumphant return and provide her version of the events as she reconnected with an old friend of hers at prom and Daniel overreacted to what he saw, though Ali admits she egged on the situation in the heat of the moment. Ali also showed concern about the faulty brake pads in the car and a miscommunication about her car crash to Mr. Miyagi, none of which Daniel denied in their double date that paired him with his wife Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) and Johnny with Ali. The first three The Karate Kid films and all six seasons of Cobra Kai are available on Netflix.

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