This past February marked the end of an era, as Cobra Kai came to an explosive end after six exhilarating, hilarious and heartfelt seasons. Its finale installments provided closure for the principal characters (including a mind-blowing final scene between John Kreese and Terry Silver). As for the series finale, it not only wrapped up the story in a lovely bow but also featured a gag about a TV spinoff of another famous film franchise, Back to the Future. Now, the trilogy’s main screenwriter is reacting to the nod, and he’s not mincing words.
Cobra Kai (which is streamable with a Netflix subscription) ends with Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso meeting at a restaurant to discuss their students’ training. Before the camera pans over to them, though, viewers see and subsequently hear two producers (played by CK creators Josh Heald and Jon Hurwitz) pitching a Back to the Future spinoff. The pitch is a series set within the alternate 1985 introduced in the film trilogy’s second installment. Franchise lead Michael J. Fox is also named as a potential director for the show.
The quick moment is a funny and meta joke that pokes fun at the influx of reboots, revivals and sequels that’s present within the Hollywood landscape right now. After the fact, some fans seemed to express interest in such a production. Bob Gale, who has writing credits on all three BTTF films, is now aware of that nod and, while speaking with People, he threw a massive bucket of water on the concept or any kind of sequel for that matter:
I don't know why they keep talking about that! I mean, do they think that if they say it enough times, we're going to actually do it?
Over the years, Bob Gale has been quite vocal about opposing any kind of formal continuation of the (highly quotable) Back to the Future franchise. This past February, Gale dropped an f-bomb while shooting down the notion of another film in the Robert Zemeckis-helmed series. Gale doubled down on those sentiments during this more recent interview and quoted Zemeckis when making his case for the trilogy to stand as it does now:
I mean, it's like they know in every interview people say, ‘Oh Bob, when is there going to be a Back to the Future 4?’ Never. When is there going to be a prequel?’ Never. ‘When is there going to be a spinoff?’ Never. It's just fine the way it is. It's not perfect, but as Bob Zemeckis used to say, ‘It's perfect enough.’
Fans seem to have strong feelings about an addition to the science fiction franchise – besides the game developed by Telltale over a decade ago and the musical that adapts the original 1985 film. While some would seemingly entertain the idea of a follow-up, others would rather the IP be left alone. Even Emmett "Doc" Brown actor Christopher Lloyd is skeptical of a sequel or spinoff of sorts.
Nevertheless, it seems like the creators of Cobra Kai are at least a tad more bullish about the concept. The producers spoke with THR months ago after the series finale debuted amid the 2025 TV schedule and addressed that BTTF scene. John Hurwitz confirmed that it was meant to be meta, given their show is also based on an ‘80s IP, The Karate Kid. However, Hurwitz also dropped an intriguing comment while mentioning Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis:
So it was something that we know will almost certainly never happen, given the point of view of Bob Zemeckis and Bob Gale not wanting there to be another Back to the Future thing or project going forward. That being said, if they happen to watch the final episode of Cobra Kai and then want to hear more, that’s the start of our pitch.
Well, it sounds like the trio of producers would be down to move forward with such a project, if the Back to the Future OGs are game for it. As mentioned, the chances of that happening are probably slim. Fans of one of the best Netflix shows, however, can at least find excitement in the prospect of Cobra Kai spinoffs coming sometime in the future.
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