The Role You Didn't Know Will Smith Had On Cobra Kai

Premiering in May of 2018 on YouTube as a scripted series, "Cobra Kai" follows the lives of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) over 30 years after the events of 1984's "The Karate Kid." Its first two seasons on YouTube were incredibly popular, and in 2020 Netflix picked up the show to further the story (via The Hollywood Reporter).

The recently-released Season 4 of "Cobra Kai" continued the show's success, as the series has a 95% critic rating and 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Some critics noted that this season of the series expertly focused on the strained relationship between Daniel and Johnny while also not taking away from the individual stories of their students (via Vulture). "Cobra Kai" has managed to successfully continue the original story of "The Karate in a unique way, making it a project anyone in Hollywood would likely want to be associated with. 

One major celebrity, Will Smith, made sure he didn't pass up on an opportunity to be a part of the show. Here's the role you didn't know Smith has on "Cobra Kai."

Known for the "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and blockbuster '90s movies like "Men in Black" and "Independence Day," Will Smith is a pop culture icon. Most recently, he was nominated for his third Oscar for his role as tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams' father Richard in "King Richard." Back in 2010, Smith's son Jaden did a reboot of the 1984 "The Karate Kid" with the same title, and although it was a financial success, the sequel hasn't happened (via Box Office Mojo). However, Smith's production company, Overbrook Entertainment owns the rights to "The Karate Kid" franchise, so when "Cobra Kai" creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg wanted to make the show, they had to come to Sony and Overbrook to approve the idea (via Men's Health).

Smith likely negotiated a deal to be an executive producer on the show given his position with Overbrook. Smith even took to Instagram in 2019 to post a picture of a mural inspired from "Cobra Kai," noting his appreciation for his production company and YouTube for taking a chance on the series. Even after the move to Netflix, it appears that Smith still remains an executive producer of the show (via IMDb).

It's an exciting time for "Cobra Kai" fans, especially after the reveal in November of last year that Season 5 had already begun filming.