Will Smith is an executive producer on Karate Kid franchise returned a few years ago on YouTube Red with Cobra Kai before moving to Netflix. Picking up decades after the events of the original trilogy, the Karate Kid sequel series saw Ralph Macchio return as Daniel LaRusso and William Zapka return as Johnny Lawrence. But, viewers might also notice a surprising name in Cobra Kai's credits: Will Smith. Here's why Will Smith is an executive producer on Cobra Kai.
Smith's involvement in Cobra Kai stems from the 2010 Karate Kid reboot starring Jackie Chan and Will's son, Jaden Smith. Sony owned the Karate Kid franchise when the first four movies were made, but Smith's production company Overbrook Entertainment acquired the rights to spearhead the 2010 Karate Kid. Overbrook's ownership of the franchise rights did not lapse despite never making a sequel to the reboot, so this required the studio to okay Cobra Kai. As the co-founder of the company, Smith receives an executive producer credit on the series.
Will Smith's Production Company Was Pivotal To Cobra Kai's Success
Even though the behind-the-scenes Will Smith Cobra Kai role was limited, Overbrook Entertainment did play a key part in bringing the show to a wider audience. Cobra Kai showrunners and self-proclaimed Karate Kid super fans Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg revealed in an interview with story for Cobra Kai to Sony and Weintraub to make sure the spin-off happened. Overbrook also then was involved in bringing future seasons of the show to Netflix.
Now that Cobra Kai has become much more popular thanks to Netflix, Smith can add another hit to his résumé. The show currently takes place outside the universe where Smith's Karate Kid reboot is believed to be set, but that could always change. There's even a chance that Will Smith could get more involved in the future or possibly even appear. In hindsight, Will Smith's Cobra Kai involvement isn't surprising, considering how he's no stranger to Netflix after starring in Bright, and reportedly will star in Bright 2 at some point. Smith could eventually the cast to further boost the show's popularity, potentially allowing Overbrook Entertainment to capitalize on some of the many Karate Kid spinoff ideas that the showrunners have for Cobra Kai.
Will Smith's 2010 Karate Kid Reboot Isn't Canon In Cobra Kai
Despite Will Smith's Cobra Kai executive producer credits, Karate Kid from 2010 — spearheaded by Smith's company — is not a canonical part of the Miyagi-verse. Even though his name on the credits initially caused much overspeculation, Smith's involvement in the series doesn't necessarily mean that a Jaden Smith Cobra Kai appearance is on the cards. That said, showrunners have toyed with the idea of recognizing 2010's Karate Kid as an existing in-universe movie, which means that both Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith may yet appear in Cobra Kai — but as actors from a movie called Karate Kid.
