With the conclusion of the series, it’s clear that Cobra Kai successfully ticked every box on the wishlist of fans of The Karate Kid franchise, while also catering to the new characters introduced in the show.

However, there is one notable exception.

It’s the one that has been on everyone’s mind for years, and it’s the absence that has been felt throughout the series. The question of whether a particular character’s return was ever considered has been a lingering one. Now that the show has come to an end, we had the opportunity to ask the creators, Hayden Schlossberg, Josh Heald, and Jon Hurwitz, about the possibility of this character’s return. Rest assured, there are no spoilers ahead, except for the fact that this character does not make an appearance.

We are, of course, referring to the talented Hilary Swank, who played the role of Julie Pierce, Mr. Miyagi’s other student, in the 1994 film The Last Karate Kid. Since the debut of Cobra Kai, which made a conscious effort to bring back many of the original stars, fans have been wondering if Swank would make an appearance, sharing her knowledge and memories of Miyagi. Unfortunately, she did not, and now that the series has concluded, we posed the question to the creative team about whether her return was ever a consideration.

“We do explore all possibilities,” Schlossberg explained to io9. “We try to determine the options available to us, considering that we don’t have control over the actors’ schedules. There were no guarantees that we would be able to get Yuji [Okumoto] or Thomas Ian Griffith back. So, we looked into it, but we quickly learned that it wasn’t feasible for the final season.”

“Working with Julie Pierce was something we would have loved to do,” Hurwitz added. “However, as we always say, ‘Things happen for a reason.’ In this case, it actually worked out perfectly from a creative standpoint, and we’re thrilled with how the season turned out.”

“I can confirm that there’s no lost episode or plotline involving this character,” Heald said. “We didn’t get far enough in our exploration to have a fully formed idea, and then have to change it. We looked into it early on, to see if it was possible, but the timing just didn’t work out. And we wrote the season with that knowledge in mind, so we didn’t have any regrets.”

There you have it, Cobra Kai fans. At one point, there was an attempt to bring Swank into the universe, but it didn’t come to fruition and was never part of the plan. Perhaps we’ll see her in Karate Kid Legends or whatever project these creators have in store for us next. But probably not.

All episodes of Cobra Kai are now available to stream on Netflix.

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