As fans of the Karate Kid franchise are aware, Yuji Okumoto stepped back into the shoes of Chozen Toguchi in Cobra Kai Season 3. The character is Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) antagonist in The Karate Kid Part II.
During Daniel’s trip to Okinawa, Japan, the men reunite thanks to Kumiko, played by Tamlyn Tomita. They initially show some aggression towards each other but eventually come to share a mutual respect.
For many fans, Chozen’s appearance in Cobra Kai was a welcomed surprise. Some members of the Karate Kid fandom may even be hopeful that he will be feature in upcoming seasons.
Yuji Okumoto Recently Commented on Whether Chozen Will Return in Future Seasons
According to Okumoto, Chozen’s return may be within the realm of possibility.
In February, the actor spoke to the publication Seattle Refined about Cobra Kai. He noted that he would be interested in playing the character in the show’s fourth season.
“I’d love to be part of the Cobra Kai world again – it was so much fun,” said the 61-year-old.
During the interview, Okumoto also revealed that he was able to help shape his character on the acclaimed series. He revealed that after reading the script, he was unsatisfied with how Chozen had been written. He told the publication:
They sent me the script and I read it and I thought – ‘Oh you know I’d like to see some changes with Chozen’s character’. To think about fast forwarding to today, and be able to reprise the same character from thirty years ago to present day in a show like ‘Cobra Kai’…I kind of made a list of things and emailed it back to the writers and they were just so gracious and accommodating. They wanted to make sure they showed deference to Chozen.
Okumoto Previously Indicated That He Wanted To Continue Playing Chozen
Okumoto has also indicated he wanted to continue playing Chozen in a December 2020 Entertainment Weekly interview. He asserted that he would portray the character again “in a heartbeat.”
In the interview, he also disclosed that prior to joining the Cobra Kai cast, he was asked about returning to the Karate Kid franchise.
“Before I was even asked to be on the show, I had my family and friends and people on social media constantly asking me, when was I going to be on the show? What am I going to say? I said, ‘I have no idea. It’s not up to me. I mean, if you folks want to go out there and post stuff, and nudge the producers and creators of the show, then by all means, have at it,'” explained the actor.
He went on to say that after “the teaser trailer for Cobra Kai season 3″ was released, he was bombarded with questions that he was unable to answer as he could not spoil the season.
“I had to be very careful with my words. I didn’t want to outright lie, I just had to finagle my way of giving it a true answer. It was a lot of finessing. I had to be really creative. I just want to say to all the folks out there, sorry, I wish I could have said something, but I couldn’t spill the beans. It was hard!” recalled Okumoto.
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