How Elisabeth Shue’s ‘Cobra Kai’ Cameo Came Together in Season 3

Meaghan Darwish January 4, 2021, 2:30 pm

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Ralph Macchio, Elisabeth Shue, and William Zabka in Cobra Kai — Netflix

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 3 of Cobra Kai.]

By now, fans of Cobra Kai have likely devoured the third season of Netflix’s Karate Kid sequel series, which features multiple cameos from past characters, including Elisabeth Shue‘s Ali.

Introduced in the original 1984 film, Shue plays the ex-girlfriend to Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and love interest to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). Despite being absent in the first two seasons, Ali’s presence looms large as the former high school rivals, Johnny and Daniel clash time and again.

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References to her are made throughout Seasons 1 and 2. After Johnny sends Ali a friend request on Facebook in Season 2, she accepted the invite, hinting at her possible return. Now, Ali, a doctor with two kids of her own, visits her hometown for the holidays, hitting up Johnny for lunch and some fun at Golf N’ Stuff.

But what made Shue decide to return? She credits her work on Amazon’s hit The Boys with inspiring her to join the series. In an interview with EW, the actress said, “I was working with this wonderful director, Dan Trachtenberg, who directed the pilot for The Boys. … When I showed up on the set for the first day, Dan came right over and said, ‘You’re doing Cobra Kai, right?’ I was like, ‘What? I don’t know…do you think that’s a good idea?’ He goes, ‘Is that a good idea? You have to be on Cobra Kai!'”

(Credit: Netflix)

“He told me…how much he loved Cobra Kai, and that it would just be devastating — ‘devastating,’ he kept saying — for the fans and for the memory of The Karate Kid if I wasn’t [on the show].”