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'Cobra Kai' season 3 trailer teases return of long-lost characters

The feud between Johnny and Daniel takes an unexpected turn, while some characters you may have forgotten about resurface.
Daniel (Ralph Macchio) has a lot on his plate in the upcoming season of "Cobra Kai."
Daniel (Ralph Macchio) has a lot on his plate in the upcoming season of "Cobra Kai."Netflix / YouTube
/ Source: TODAY

“Cobra Kai” is going back to the past to get ready for the future.

On Wednesday, Netflix dropped the trailer for the upcoming third season of the popular series based on “The Karate Kid.”

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As you may expect, the trailer is loaded with action, but it also features some characters from “The Karate Kid” universe fans haven’t seen in a long time: Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), who was Daniel's nemesis in “The Karate Kid Part II,” and Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita), who was his romantic interest in the sequel.

Their appearances in the trailer are brief and it’s not clear what kind of roles they will play. It may also lead fans to wonder if Elisabeth Shue will return as Ali, the role she played in the original film. Her potential return was teased in the season two finale.

The trailer itself also features Daniel and Johnny doing something more unthinkable than Daniel overcoming the odds to win the All Valley Karate Championships: joining forces to take down Sensei Kreese, who seems as villainous as ever. Daniel and Johnny are seen driving together and even putting a big hurt on some goons.

"The whole reason these kids got into trouble was because of us," Daniel says at one point. "We can't let them suffer because of our issues. The only way to end this is by working together. So? What do you say?"

The "kids," of course, refers to the next generation of karate enthusiasts who have entered the “Karate Kid” family thanks to “Cobra Kai.” The trailer picks up after the wild high school brawl that left Miguel in a coma. In the trailer, his former sensei, Johnny, expresses his regret.

"I thought I was doing the right thing, but I failed you," he says.

Meanwhile, it looks like there's a concert with Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider, Johnny’s son, Robby, appears to be in a juvenile detention center, Hawk comes face-to-face with old enemy Kyler and Daniel’s daughter, Sam, laments how out of control things have gotten.

"I thought we were the good guys,” she says.

"We try to be," Daniel replies. "There's one thing I do know for sure — you can't run away from your problems."

There’s at least one other thing that we know: “Cobra Kai” returns for a third season on Netflix in January.