Cobra Kai confirms the death of a missing Karate Kid character

Cobra Kai season 6 has quietly confirmed that a missing character from the Karate Kid films will not appear in the series. Snake, a character Daniel LaRusso encountered in The Karate Kid Part IIIapparently died some time before the events of the show’s final season. In the 1989 film, Snake was played by Jonathan Avildsen.

Since the 4th season, the series has been pulling strongly since the third of the five Karate Kid films. This made the film’s villain, Terry Silver, the cornerstone of its fourth and fifth seasons. It also gave a cameo appearance to the film’s main female character, Jessica Andrews, in season 5. Meanwhile, Mike Barnes – Daniel’s nemesis in The Karate Kid Part III – has been in three episodes, including the Cobra Kai season 5 finale. The show’s connections to the film extended further into Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 2, which added one more returning character — and dropped another.

One of Terry Silver’s original Minions died before Season 6

Snake was an associate of Terry Silver in the 1980s

Clarifying what happened to Terry Silver after his arrest, a flashback scene in Cobra Kai Season 6, Episode 9 offered a surprising reference to one of his henchmen from The Karate Kid Part III. As an attempt to stop Silver from making more bad choices in life, his lawyer told Silver: “you don’t want to end up in the morgue like your friend Snake.“This was the show’s first mention of Jonathan Avildsen’s character, a thug who helped Mike Barnes destroy Mr. Miyagi’s house in the 1989 film.

The confirmation of Snake’s death explains why William Christopher Ford’s Dennis was left without his usual partner in Cobra Kai Season 6, part 2. In The Karate Kid Part IIISnake and Dennis (referred to in Cobra Kai like “Mr. De Guzmán“) were portrayed as a team, but the series cut the duo in half. As for what exactly happened to him, the show hasn’t given a clear answer, but the fact that his death was used as a warning to Silver implies that he continued his life of crime. Apparently, this is what caused his early death.

Why didn’t Snake return to Cobra Kai?

Jonathan Avildsen hasn’t acted as an actor in over 20 years

With Snake’s reveal on the show, Jonathan Avildsen joined a short list of legacies Karate Kid characters that will never appear Cobra Kai. That list has dwindled drastically over the years, with Julie Pierce, Snake, and Dutch being among the few who didn’t get any sort of role (but admittedly, Julie’s situation could still change). In the case of the late Dutch actor Chad McQueen, a retirement from acting was attributed to his absence, and the same could be the explanation for Snake, although an official reason was not given.

Avildsen, son of Karate Kid trilogy director John Avildsen, has only a few acting credits to his name and never became a prolific actor, as he has not held a role since 2002. It is unclear whether he was invited back to Cobra Kai. But while it’s safe to say right now that Snake won’t appear, it’s possible that since Dennis’ return wasn’t a cameo, more details about Snake’s death will be offered later.