Cobra Kai Season 4: when is the next series coming out on Netflix - and who could be in the cast?

As the curtain comes down on Season 3 of Netflix’s Cobra Kai, fans are wondering if there will be more to come from the Emmy Award-nominated Karate Kid spin-off.

The third series of the martial arts comedy-drama debuted on the streaming service on New Year’s day, and already avid viewers have consumed the whole thing.

So will they be able to get another fix of the show; when is Season 4 coming?

Here is everything you need to know.

What is Cobra Kai about?

A spin-off from The Karate Kid films, Cobra Kai takes place over 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament.

It follows the exploits of the now successful Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio, reprising his central role from the Karate Kid films) is struggling to maintain balance in his life without the guidance of Mr. Miyagi.

When the infamous Cobra Kai dojo is reopened by LaRusso’s previous adversary, the down-and-out Johnny Lawrence (again played by a naturally aged William Zabka), he must take him on one last time, but it's not quite as simple as that.

The series first launched on YouTube Red, with the first two series being made available in 2018 to 2019.

In the summer of June 2020, Netflix acquired both series, and made them available to stream, opening them up to a much wider audience; the series became the most-watched series on the platform.

The reception was so warm, a third season was quickly announced which debuted on New Year’s day 2021.

The story of later seasons revolves around the relationships between LaRusso and Lawrence, and the new, younger students through which they battle each other.

Will there be a Season 4 of Cobra Kai?

Yes, Cobra Kai will return for Season 4 on Netflix, and confirmation of a fourth series was revealed in October 2020, before the third series even aired.

The series is expected to begin filming in January 2021, with production expected to wrap up in April 2021.

Though Netflix has not yet announced the release date of Season 4 of Cobra Kai, it would be reasonable to expect to see the series around December 2021 or January 2022.

It's thought the new series will once again consist of 10 episodes, as previous runs have done so.

Again, this has not yet been confirmed by Netflix, and with other productions cutting series lengths short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the final number of episodes could look different.

What will happen in Season 4 of Cobra Kai?

One of the funnest aspects of Cobra Kai is seeing which actors will turn up, reprising their roles from the Karate Kid films.

It’s been confirmed that Thomas Ian Griffith – who played Terry Silver in Season 4. It is unclear to other guest stars from the old movies such as Elisabeth Shue and Ali.

Rumours abound that Hilary Swank – who appeared in the fourth film as Julie Pierce and remains one of the biggest names to have been involved with the franchise – will be making an appearance in Season 4.

Swank has neither confirmed nor denied her interest, though she has acknowledged that an appearance would give her character a chance to have a "showdown" with Daniel LaRusso.

Ahead of Season 3’s premiere, the show's co-creators told Cinema Blend that they had “spoken about” getting Swank involved.

"In our writers’ room we speak about literally every character that has appeared in the Miyagi-verse," said co-creator Jon Hurwitz,”so it’s obvious that we’ve spoken about Julie Pierce.

"As to whether or not she’ll return to the series, that’s something you’ll just have to wait to find out."