Chad McQueen tribute explained

Divided into three parts “Cobra Kai” Season 6 brings The best project “Karate Kid”. So far until the end – but not necessarily the end, given the creators’ stated desire for the setting A spin-off centered around the beloved “Karate Kid” Mr. Miyagi (The late Pat Morita, with Brian Takahashi playing the younger iteration of the character in “Cobra Kai”). The series is known for paying homage to its past in general and the cast from the original “Karate Kid” film trilogy in particular, and the final season is no exception. The first episode of “Cobra Kai” Season 6, Part 2, titled “Benvinguts a Barcelona,” contains a touching tribute to Chad McQueen, who plays fellow Cobra Kai Dutch student Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in “The Karate Kid” (1984). ). and its 1986 sequel “The Karate Kid II”.

McQueen died on September 11, 2024, at the age of 63, while “Benvinguts a Barcelona” was released just two months later on November 15. This means that the show paid tribute to the actor the first chance it got with a credit card featuring a photo of him. McQueen figure with actor’s name, years of birth and death, and time-honored slogan: “Cobra Kai Never Dies.”

Chad McQueen Hotch is one of the few notable characters from the first three “The Karate Kid” films who does not appear in the current “Cobra Kai” timeline. When his old Cobra Kai friend group of Johnny, Bobby (Ron Thomas), Jimmy (Tony O’Dell) and Tommy (Rob Garrison) reunite in the Season 2 episode “Take a Right,” we find out it’s because Dutch is in prison. said series co-creator Josh Heald TV line In 2024, there have been several attempts to bring Dutch back into the mix, but:

“We love Chad McQueen so much. We were so lucky to meet him and sit down with him, and we explored several times the possibility of bringing him on the show. We tried to do it in Season 2, but the schedules weren’t so he wasn’t able to be there with the rest of the OG Cobras as they were riding Their motorcycle for the Tommy episode We tried again to think creatively about something during Season 5, and the production schedule was right so it was unbearable that we once again looked at, “How do we bring it into this world?” Because the Dutchman is an important figure for us.”

For now, McQueen Dutch receives the laurels of “Cobra Kai” only through flashbacks and anecdotes. Tragically, the actor isn’t the only member of the original Cobra Kai crew to receive recognition either. The reason the group gets back together in Season 2 is Tommy, who suffers from a serious illness and dies before the end of the episode. Unfortunately, Rob Garrison himself passed away in 2019 at the age of just 59, and was given a tribute card that looked a lot like McQueen’s card in the “Cobra Kai” season 3 opener, “Aftermath.”