Posted in: Netflix, TV | Tagged: cobra kai, hayden schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald

Cobra Kai Showrunners on Spinoff Pitches: Stingray, Gunther & More

Cobra Kai showrunners respond to spinoff pitches out there regarding tournament emcee Gunther, dojo wildcard Stingray, and more.

Cobra Kai showrunners Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg opened a can of worms with season six's final episodes within a treasure trove of possibilities. At the beginning of season six, part three, we discover the Sekai Taikai was suspended following the shocking death of Cobra Kai captain Kwon Jae-Sung (Brandon H. Lee) at the end of the multi-dojo scrum. Desperate, Iron Dragons co-sensei Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) confronts Sekai Taikai host Gunther Braun (Carsten Norgraard) about what it would take to get the tournament started. He responds that it would require all sensei's unanimous decision from the surviving dojo from Miyagi-Do, Cobra Kai, and Iron Dragons to set things in motion. The trio spoke to Entertainment Weekly on spinoff ideas and the following contains major spoilers.

Cobra Kai Showrunners Respond to Spinoff Pitches

The first pitch focuses on Norgaard's character, who's also a German martial artist, called "Gunther Braun: Bureaucracy Crusher". EW's concept is "Having whipped the bickering All Valley board into shape, former Sekai Taikai chairman Gunther Braun travels from town to town, taking over local sports tournaments and making them run like clockwork with his no-nonsense Germanic ways — and maybe a few front kicks."

"It's like Bar Rescue!" says Heald with a laugh. "I think we're all in on Gunther. You know how much we love the All Valley board, so to have this very serious man who's thrown this big, lauded international tournament, be in the mix with the pettiness of the All Valley board was so much fun. It should happen in every town across America," Hurwitz adds.

Another is the one featuring rising superstar and Emmy-award winner Paul Walter Hauser's scene stealer Raymond "Stingray" Porter. While he was never a serious contestant in any of the tournaments, he provided a lot of comic relief and generated a ton of heart for William Zabka's Johnny Lawrence in reminding him why he was right to restart his dojo, Cobra Kai, and how it helped him in his life. At the end of the series, we see Stingray addressing a crowd of potential recruits, informing them the dojo is full, but another will expand in the Valley, and for extra motivation, gets them to do some calisthenics.

"Listen, we talk to Paul Walter Hauser all the time about the Stingray character and possibilities," Schlossberg said. "What's fun is you could pick a character like that, and it could have a totally different feel than Cobra Kai. You can lean more like comedy or action-comedy if you went for it." Hurwitz adds, "For Stingray, I think we prefer a series of '80s-style action movies where he's just kicking ass and taking names." For more, including pitches on the Binary Bros, starring Jacob Bertrand and Gianni DeCenzo's Hawk and Demetri, and a Back to the Future Part II-related alternate-1985 series pitch, you can check out the piece.

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