The Karate Kid spin-off, one of the first YouTube Red originals, is a legitimate hit, as it follows the story of Johnny Lawrence, the bully who came up short against Daniel La Russo in the original 80’s classic. Unlike all of the other Karate Kid sequels and Jaden Smith remake, Cobra Kai does a masterful job of continuing the original story in a fresh and exciting way. I especially like the duality of the characters as there are no clear cut good guys or bad guys. Everyone is conflicted as the original villain from the movies becomes the protagonist and the original hero, Daniel Son, gets rich and turns into kind of a douche. Until the script gets flipped over and over again. So who do you root for when everyone is the hero of their own story?
Re-imagining the legend of the Karate Kid from the Point of View of the bad guy is a very creative way of rebooting the franchise. It’s the kind of outside the box thinking that Hollywood strives for but rarely discovers. The closest comparison might be the Despicable Me series that puts an evil genius in the spotlight.
My infatuation with Cobra Kai got me thinking: are there any other unique show concepts out there? The show itself doesn’t have to be great. Just the concept. And even if a show is great, that still doesn’t mean it qualifies. Westworld is a total mind fuck but wouldn’t qualify. Neither would Stranger Things as there’s really nothing that unique about its format.
The best example might be a show that doesn’t even exist yet: the Game of thrones pre prequel set 10,000 years before the events of the saga we’ve grown to love. Set to air in 2020 this spinoff series would explore “The Golden Age” and would describe how the great houses were formed, how the White Walkers were formed, how the Wall was built, etc. Giving us a first-hand look at the show’s mythology instead of just returning to the same world that George R.R. Martin already built. Similar but different. Opposed to more of the same that has plagued countless other spinoffs, most notably Fear the Walking Dead, which is now just hemorrhaging main characters at an alarming rate.
So are there any other shows out there that re-imagine a beloved series in a new way? Are there any that you would like to see? Perhaps a Goonies prequel that looks at how Sloth turned out the way he did? Or a return to the Home Alone Series that follows the antics of The Sticky Bandits, leading up to that fateful night that they ran into Kevin McCallister. Or maybe we could re-tell the story of Back to the Future through the eyes of the Tannens by introducing a Tiff Tannen-Jennifer feud? Or what about a Saved by the Bell re-make from the point of view of Mr. Belding, similar to that Funny or Die sketch, “Zach Morris is trash.”
All great ideas in my opinion. So which one should we chose? I’m not sure, but whatever we do we should do it soon. Strike first! Strike hard! No mercy!
What other shows/movies can be re-invented?
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