Ralph Macchio and William Zabka debate who’s the real villain of Karate Kid

When thinking about some of the greatest on-screen rivalries of the past several decades, I think about the relationships between characters like Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, Marty McFly and Biff Tannen, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, and of course, Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence of the classic 1980s property THE KARATE KID. Each and every one of these aforementioned characters has left their mark on cinematic history and in the case of Daniel and Johnny, some blood upon the mats along the way.

Today Netflix has released a new promo for its newly-acquired series COBRA KAI that finds Ralph Macchio and William Zabka debating the age-old question of who the real villain of their Karate Kid franchise really is.

To help them debate the question, both actors were shown clips from THE KARATE KID as well as its in-demand spin-off series, COBRA KAI. As the duo review the evidence remotely from the comfort and safety of their own homes, it quickly becomes apparent that both Daniel and Johnny are hot-headed, testosterone-driven neanderthals, each looking to beat the snot out of one another for the affections of a pretty girl. Some would say that this is just "boys being boys," but both Macchio and Zabka know that there is more to Daniel and Johnny's rivalry than meets the eye, especially when self-respect is on the line.

Toward the end of the video, Zabka says that a lot of people have talked about who the real bad guy of the original Karate Kid really is and that he thinks it's Johnny's hot-headed sensei, John Kreese, as played by Martin Kove.

"I think the real bad guy in The Karate Kid is Kreese. And I think it's kind of the teaching that's the bad guy, and that style and that mentality. And that's what's great about the show is that Johnny is trying to create a new Cobra Kai. He's trying to, he knows there was something not great about that and attempting to move forward, but he's got a lot of baggage with him," Zabka says about Kreese's influence over Johnny at the start of their mentorship.

In other COBRA KAI-related news, series creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg recently shared that ideas for even more spin-off are already being considered.

"We have put thought into spin-off ideas. We just love The Karate Kid universe, love all the characters from back in the day and we love the characters we've created. It's hard for me to give you an exact answer to this, but what I can say is that we have a list of at least five different scenarios that we would pursue, that we could consider."

The first two seasons of COBRA KAI are now available to stream on Netflix with plans for Season 3 to launch sometime in 2021.

Who do you think the real villain of THE KARATE KID truly is? Let us know in the comments section down below.