New 'Cobra Kai' season 6 clip sees the return of an original 'Karate Kid' villain

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A very familiar face will seemingly be helping to train Daniel and Johnny's dojo students in the upcoming new season

Yuji Okumoto as Chozen Toguchi, Sean Kanan as Mike Barnes, Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in episode 503 of Cobra Kai.
(Image credit: Netflix)

A spin-off of the martial-arts classic "The Karate Kid," "Cobra Kai" features many memorable characters from that film franchise, including Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), John Kreese (Martin Kove) and Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). And in Cobra Kai' season 6, those familiar faces will be joined by another returning character from the Miyagi-verse: Mike Barnes. 

Played by Sean Kanan, Mike Barnes was a major antagonist and former henchman for Silver in the 1989 film "The Karate Kid Part III." Kanan reprised the role in the Netflix hit last year and will seemingly pop up again in season 6, which will debut its first five episodes on Thursday, July 18. 

In an exclusive clip published by Entertainment Weekly, Barnes has reunited with senseis Daniel and Johnny to help select the students who will represent their dojo and fight at the prestigious Sekai Taikai tournament. "Everyone I know who has participated in this has horror stories. This thing is intense, unpredictable," Barnes can be seen warning the young students in the minute-long scene. "I will do what the Sekai Taikai will do. I will surprise you with events. I will push you to your limits."

When Daniel reminds Mike to "keep things positive," the karate bad boy had a reminder of his own in response: "You came to me. The deal was my way or the highway."

Sean Kanan in Cobra Kai season 5

(Image credit: Netflix)

Kanan revealed to EW exactly how the season 6 cameo came about, saying, “Johnny and Daniel are both kind of at loggerheads about what to name the dojo, and who should represent it” at the upcoming karate competition. “Daniel comes up with the brainstorm that they need somebody who is ostensibly impartial. The big reveal is that Mike Barnes has been brought on” to make the team "selections," the actor added. 

However, though the students should be happy they're being trained by a national champion, “Barnes makes it very clear that this is going to be a baptism by fire for whoever is strong enough to make it through the tests that he sets up,” Kanan explained.  “He's got some out-of-the-box thinking.” Those karate kids have their work cut out for them!

And apparently, there's even more Miyagi-verse to come: "Cobra Kai" co-creators Jon Hurwitz and Josh Heald previously revealed that they'd be open to even more spin-offs and side quests set in "The Karate Kid" world so who knows, maybe one day Mike Barnes can have his own show. 

 Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all updates surrounding the sixth season of "Cobra Kai" — as well as any potential spin-off series — including behind-the-scenes tidbits, casting intel, showrunner insights and more. In the meantime, you can revisit the first five seasons of the martial arts comedy-drama with a Netflix subscription.

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Christina Izzo
Christina Izzo
Writer

Christina Izzo is a writer-editor covering culture, food and drink, travel and general lifestyle in New York City. She was previously the Deputy Editor at My Imperfect Life, the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York.