[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 3 finale of Cobra Kai.]

If Seasons 1 through 3 are any indication, we’ve got a lot to look forward to in Cobra Kai  Season 4 on Netflix. Creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg kicked things off strong with Season 1, but they’ve also consistently upped the stakes, scope and nostalgic good vibes with every new episode.

The show challenges fans to view the events of The Karate Kid from another perspective, explores how a new generation of students apply lessons from the past while carving their own paths, and it also digs deep into the evolution of the characters from the original trilogy of films. Cobra Kai’s been peeling back the layers of Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny’s (William Zabka) rivalry to reveal that they’re actually more alike than they ever realized, going as far to leave them in a place where they commit to the idea that they’re stronger together in the Season 3 finale. One could say they might not have been able to make that momentous determination without help from someone who’s been at the very center of that rivalry all this time, Elisabeth Shue’s Ali Mills.

Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and Elisabeth Shue in Cobra Kai
Image via Netflix

The return of Ali might have been one of the most anticipated moments of the continuation of the franchise and, sure enough, Heald, Hurwitz and Schlossberg didn’t disappoint with how they handled working her into the Season 3 storyline. While Shue’s involvement could have been nothing more than a fan-service cameo, the trio took it a significant step further, fully justifying her return through an arc that painted a vivid picture of who Ali is now and how the events of Karate Kid contributed to that, while also having her make a major impact on Daniel and Johnny’s growth.

Ultimately, it was a big success all around. But, it was actually something that the creators took a bit of a gamble on. Back when they decided to end Season 2 with a shot of Johnny’s phone with a friend request from Ali on the screen, they actually didn’t know for sure that Shue would be available to join the ensemble in Season 3. While hosting the Paley Front Row panel for the Cobra Kai cast and creators, I absolutely had to ask about taking that leap. Here’s how Hurwitz described the situation:

“When we wrote at the end of Season 2 that you’re gonna see this phone on the beach, we’re basically saying, ‘Oh, Elisabeth Shue will eventually come,’ and that was just us trying to will it into existence. We believed we were making a really great, well intentioned show, we were proud of the work that we were all doing and we felt like we had something really interesting for her to do. We had heard by that point that there was an open-mindedness at the very least on her end to considering it, and at that point, we felt confident that we were going to reintroduce her character in a way that was three-dimensional, that showed that her character had lived life and has some interesting things that she’s going through while also it dovetailing with a time where it would be really valuable for both Johnny and Daniel’s characters to be encountering her.”

Elisabeth Shue in Cobra Kai
Image via Netflix

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So yes, the team had work they were proud of and felt good about what they were planning to do with the character of Ali in the show, but even then, Shue’s involvement wasn’t a lock - but that didn’t stop them. Hurwitz continued:

“It’d come a little bit down to the wire in certain ways, but we wouldn’t take no for an answer when it came to the studio getting nervous or whatever it was. We never told them our back-up plan. We did have one, but we never told them it. We made it like there was no option and they kind of had to do whatever it took to eventually make it happen, because we thought it was important for the fans of The Karate Kid and fans of Cobra Kai to have that fulfilling experience of ‘Ali with an I’ returning into this world.”

Ralph Macchio and William Zabka in Cobra Kai Season 3
Image via Netflix

While there is lots to love about Cobra Kai’s highly rewatchable first three seasons, we all want more ASAP, right? Cobra Kai Season 4 did recently wrap production with plans for the new episodes to hit Netflix later this year. The team is keeping plot details under wraps for now, but Heald did offer this brief tease of their goals for the new season:

“All I can say is it was really important for us to end Season 3 the way we did with a kind of like ‘yah’ as a feeling as opposed to [‘aw’] where Season 2 went. And we want to deliver on that feeling. We want to keep providing the dopamine that generates that good feeling. We want to make sure we’re delivering on goosebumps, on tears, on belly laughs and fist bumps. It’s the same recipe with different tastes and everything else, but it’s even bigger so we’re really, really proud of what we’re making so far. I can’t wait for you to see what everybody’s doing.”

That day truly can’t come soon enough and the Collider team will be here with all the latest on Cobra Kai as we near the Season 4 release!

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