Cobra Kai: Every Character Returning For Season 5

Though Cobra Kai just ended, fans are already looking forward to the next season. The ending of Season 4 showed Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang dojos both being forced to close down after losing to Cobra Kai. But that doesn’t mean the story’s over; several characters have more interesting places to go story-wise than they did this season.

With that in mind, there are plenty of characters fans are eager to see return to the series. But which ones are actually coming back out of Cobra Kai‘s massive cast of characters? Fortunately, several actors have already confirmed their appearances in Season 5.

14 Kenny Payne Will Be A Top Member Of Cobra Kai

The end of Season 4 set Dallas Dupree Young’s character up as a potential major part of the show. After losing in a fight against Robby Keene in the All-Valley tournament, his former bully, Anthony, tried to talk it out with him. But spending so much time within Cobra Kai has corrupted Kenny, who instead lashed out against Anthony.

Unwilling to tolerate pity from someone who showed him no compassion before, Payne promised that he would make Anthony suffer exactly the way he had. Will anyone be able to save him before he goes too far?

13 Anthony LaRusso Will Struggle Against The People He Bullied

In the earlier seasons, Anthony LaRusso was just an annoying little brother to Samantha. But Season 4 saw him elevated into a more important character, placing him in an antagonistic role. In trying to fit in with his friends, Anthony bullies newcomer Kenny Payne for much of the season.

While he tried to change his ways in the end, it was too late. Will Anthony be in the same place as his dad was in the original Karate Kid films?

12 Chozen Toguchi Will Come Back To Help Daniel With Cobra Kai

Chozen was the big villain of Karate Kid II, and made a reappearance in Cobra Kai‘s Season 3. There, he and Daniel had another match with each other where Chozen won. Though he was full of anger in his younger years, in his old age Chozen has changed.

Quiet and taciturn, he teaches Daniel a special technique in Miyagi-Do karate before allowing Daniel to go back to the U.S. In Season 5, he’ll play a larger role, helping Daniel stop Cobra Kai’s domination of the Valley.

11 Amanda LaRusso Will Be Around To Help Daniel With His Business

To the show’s credit, Courtney Henggeler’s Amanda LaRusso has always remained one of the key characters on the show. While she’s not going to be taking up karate, they’ve given her plenty to do. In Season 4, Amanda connected with Tory Nichols over her troubled background.

With Tory realizing that her victory in the All-Valley wasn’t earned, she’ll need all the support she can get. And hopefully, Amanda can keep pointing out how absurd many of the karate developments on the show are.

10 Daniel LaRusso Will Have To Lead Miyagi-Do From The Background

Though the show is meant to revolve around the children, as one of the original leads in the series, Daniel is the heart of the show. The character is going to be a major part of Season 5, especially given how Season 4 ended.

Now, Miyagi-Do is shut down potentially for good. But Daniel is well-aware that Cobra Kai doesn’t do things honestly, and that he can’t allow them to set up shop all over town. It’s been made plain he doesn’t plan on backing down next season.

9 Johnny Lawrence Is Going To Have To Step Up As A Dad

Johnny Lawrence was meant to be the main character of the show, but with so many other strong performances, he’s become just a strong member of an ensemble cast. But there’s plenty for him to do next season.

He’ll have to figure out how to split time between looking after his son Robby Keene, who recently decided to allow Lawrence back into his life. But Miguel is in a rough spot while on the search for his dad, and Johnny will have to step in to look after him as well.

8 Miguel Diaz Is On The Search For His Father

Miguel had some of the bigger character beats in the fourth season. The actor has confirmed he’s on his way back, but who knows how his story goes. The character ended the fourth season abandoning the tournament before he could continue his matches. Instead, he decides he would rather go looking for his father.

It isn’t explained who his dad is, but the series has made it plain he wasn’t a good guy.

7 John Kreese Will Be Locked Up But Present

It would be easy to simply write Martin Kove’s character, John Kreese, off for next season, but he’s already confirmed that Kreese will be part of Season 5. Of course, at the end of Season 4, the character is falsely accused by Stingray of being responsible for his assault.

This will likely keep the character behind bars for some time, but seeing how he gets out… and what he has planned for Terry when he does, is the real story.

6 Robby Keene Is Finally Realizing The Error Of His Ways

Robby Keene has been all over the place in terms of character. He started out working with Daniel to annoy his dad. But that eventually turned into him learning Miyagi-Do Karate to participate in the All-Valley. Eventually, he found his way into Cobra Kai, but despite thinking he was smarter than all the adults, he found a major surprise waiting for him at the end of Season 4.

He failed to give Kenny Payne a healthy outlet to deal with his bullying, and now he’s trying to welcome his dad back into his life.

5 Samantha LaRusso Will Have To Accept Her First Big Loss

Samantha LaRusso is confirmed to be coming back, and it looks like her character will have to deal with her first major loss. In Season 4, Sam’s desire to become her own person blossomed in the form of her learning both Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang Karate.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t good enough for her to beat Tory Nichols. She’ll have to carry that loss with her, especially now that Miyagi-Do no longer exists.

4 Eli Moskowitz Has Found A Stronger Version Of Himself

Hawk’s character arc seems complete at the end of Season 4. He began as something of an outcast who allowed himself to be bullied because he was different. Training under Cobra Kai changed him, but Season 4 saw him learning to atone for his mistakes.

He lost his mohawk, but regained his partner Moon. More importantly, he proved he still had the talent to fight, beating Robby Keene in the finals and establishing himself as a champion.

3 Demetri Alexopoulos Is Stepping Up As A Major Member Of Miyagi-Do

Demetri is confirmed to be making a comeback according to Gianni DeCenzo, but it remains to be seen what he’ll be doing. In Season 4, the character learned how to stand up for himself more.

He was one of the first generations of Miyagi-Do fighters, and he was even able to give Eli confidence in himself to come back to karate. Though he lost to Robby Keene at the tournament, his ability to lead will be all the more important in season five.

2 Tory Nichols Has Seen The True Dark Side Of Cobra Kai

Tory Nichols has been one of the show’s most polarizing characters, but credit to actress Peyton List as she’s been able to make everyone understand what a complex, layered character Tory really is.

As someone who’s struggled to keep her family together, finally achieving something she can be proud of by becoming the All-Valley Women’s champion was a huge moment for Tory. Season 5 for her will be all about how she handles learning that moment was given to her by a shady referee.

1 Terry Silver Is Currently The Big Bad Guy

Terry Silver was one of the characters fans had asked for the most. And Thomas Ian Griffin did not disappoint. Though the character seemed like he was comfortable being John Kreese’s flunky at first, by the end of the season he was responsible for the show’s biggest twist of all.

Not only was he willing to cheat to ensure Cobra Kai’s victory, but he was willing to lock up his best friend to take over Cobra Kai. Silver is pretty much guaranteed to be the show’s big bad for now.