The hotly anticipated third season of Cobra Kai is almost upon us, and with it comes a few familiar faces from Daniel-San's past. Choice among them is Karate Kid 2 villain Chozen, with actor Yuji Okumoto, who reprises the role, recently teasing what fans can expect from the long-awaited reunion.

"Chozen has gone through a lot of soul searching after losing his fight with Daniel. I think that he saw the light, and - this is just my take - I think through the dedication that he put into getting back into martial arts for the right reasons, I think he started to understand what the true meaning of martial arts is, and what the true meaning of honor is. So I think when people see the end scene between Chozen and Daniel, I think they will be satisfied with that closer. And who knows, beyond that. I'm kind of the last Miyagi-Do connection for Daniel's character. There's always that possibility for them to continue. I'm hoping."

The last time Daniel LaRusso and Chozen came face-to-face, it was in a literal fight to the death back in 1986. Concluding in typically epic terms, with Daniel emerging victorious after some uplifting inspiration from his beloved mentor Mr Miyagi, Daniel squeezes the nose of his adversary playfully rather than ending his life in a brutal fashion. It sounds like Chozen has grown since The Karate Kid Part II, rather than just stewing over this humiliating loss, with Okumoto explaining that the character will have learned more about the spiritual side of martial arts, rather than just the fatal moves.

Of course, this doesn't mean the rival pair won't throw down a few times, with Yuji Okumoto discussing what it was like working, and fighting, with actor Ralph Macchio again after all these years.

"It's like reuniting with an old friend - not that we're old, mind you. [Laughs] The thing I love about working with someone like Ralph is he's a pro. He doesn't bitch and moan about stuff, he just does the work. I can't say enough about how fortunate I was to be brought onto the show and to be reunited with him. When we initially [reunited] it was via a phone call, and he wanted the two of us to get together to rehearse the fight scene together. Because we had probably four significant fight scenes in that episode, so he wanted to bring me out about a week early to Atlanta to go over and rehearse the fights - which at my age, that's a blessing. We had a chance to get together and rehearse, and then catch up and talk story in between kicking each other's asses."

Set 34 years after the first Karate Kid movie, Cobra Kai re-examines the narrative from Daniel's rival, Johnny Lawrence's point of view. Now a struggling alcoholic, Johnny decides to reopen the Cobra Kai karate dojo, leading to the rekindling of his old rivalry with Daniel LaRusso. According to the official synopsis from Netflix, Cobra Kai season 3 will deal with the repercussions of the brawl at the high school that closed out the second season. With Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) in a coma, both Daniel and Johnny must reassess the extent of their own involvement in the events that put him there and try to figure out how to forge a better path forward for their students.

Cobra Kai stars Ralph Macchio as Daniel and William Zabka as Johnny as well as Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni Decenzo, Vanessa Rubio, Peyton List, and Martin Kove. Netflix will premiere Cobra Kai season 3 on January 8th, 2021. This comes to us from Enertainment Weekly.