‘Cobra Kai’ used AI to bring back ‘Karate Kid’ character in controversial ‘nightmare’ scene
This story contains spoilers for “Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2.”
Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” used artificial intelligence to bring back the most influential character in the “Karate Kid” universe — the late Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi.
Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi in the first “Karate Kid” alongside Ralph Macchio and William Zabka and its three sequels, died in 2005, but his presence has loomed large over the series.
The character has occasionally appeared in flashbacks via archive footage. But in the show’s most recent batch of episodes for its final season, Morita’s likeness was recreated with AI to interact with Macchio’s character in a nightmare sequence.
Pat Morita, who died in 2005, originated the character of Mr. Miyagi in the “Karate Kid” films with Ralph Macchio. (Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)
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“This was something that was a long time coming,” “Cobra Kai” co-creator Jon Hurwitz told Deadline. “It was something we weren’t sure we would do on the show. But, as technology’s gotten better and we were in our final season, before Season 6, we sat down with Ralph and discussed what he would love to see this final season. And the idea of him sharing screen time with Pat Morita again was something that he would love to find a way to make happen.
“If we were going to do this, we had to do it the right way by getting involved with [Morita’s] estate and making sure they were comfortable with it. We also contacted one of Pat’s daughters with whom we have a relationship. Ralph spoke with her about the scene to ensure everyone was on board and felt good about what we were doing. We did our best to work with a great company that was going to deliver, and there were lots and lots of rounds of notes, from voice AI to the deepfake. We were pleased with the result.”
Morita’s likeness and voice were recreated through a mix of techniques, including AI. (Netflix)
In the sequence, Macchio’s character, Daniel, is having a nightmare after learning his beloved mentor killed someone in a karate tournament years before they ever met. Daniel first sees a young version of Miyagi, played by Brian Takahashi, before he hears Morita’s voice and sees his image as he appeared in the “Karate Kid” films.
“Cobra Kai” co-creator Josh Heald told TV Line, “We’re still coming out of the wild, wild west of AI and visual effects, and we’re entering a place of needing to have some standards in terms of how you present that. You can’t just do anything you want. Even though you’re not having an actor there on set, it’s still his likeness. So, we went through all of that process, which was important to us and the studio, and feel like we’ve captured this unfortunate vision that Daniel is having of being trapped in this nightmare that he’s been in.
“Cobra Kai” co-creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg spoke about using AI to recreate Morita’s likeness, saying they were careful to consider the actor’s legacy. (Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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“He’s been kind of in a waking nightmare, and then he’s having a literal nightmare where a Miyagi like we’ve never seen visits him,” he added.
To achieve the effect, Heald told Deadline, they used a combination of practical, digital and AI effects to recreate Morita’s likeness and voice, including an onset stand-in, face mapping and voice technology.
“We’re still coming out of the wild, wild west of AI and visual effects, and we’re entering a place of needing to have some standards in terms of how you present that.”
“They took all of the audio from his performances in ‘The Karate Kid’ movies, and they feed it into a machine. And then the AI does its thing,” Hurwitz told the outlet.
Fans of the show had mixed to negative reactions to the AI-assisted recreation of Morita’s character.
Fans had mixed reactions to the appearance of Morita’s character through the use of AI. (Nancy R. Schiff/Getty Images)
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“‘Cobra Kai’ did a great job of bringing Mr. Miyagi back last 5 seasons with older footage, in moments when Daniel needed guidance, which had a big emotional impact,” one person wrote on X. “This time, doing a CGI felt wrong. #CobraKai is an amazing show that really didn’t need this.”
“I’m in the last episode of the second part of ‘Cobra Kai’ season 6 and they just brought back Mr. Miyagi with AI. Disgusting, just keep the younger actor for the whole scene. Or give him make up for that one moment to make him look older. I’m extremely disappointed in Netflix,” another shared.
A third added, “‘Cobra Kai’s’ part 2 of the last season is dope but CGI Mr. Miyagi was just so wrong.”
Others questioned the overall story arc, with one asking, “why are they making Mr. Miyagi into a bad guy?”
Morita as Mr. Miyagi has been a huge influence on “Cobra Kai” in all six seasons. (Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)
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“Cobra Kai” has one more batch of episodes in its final season, which will air in January 2025.
It’s not the first project to use a blend of actors and AI to bring the likeness of a deceased performer back to life this year.
“Alien: Romulus” premiered in August and used similar technology to recreate the likeness of the late Ian Holm, who appeared in the original 1979 “Alien.”
Like “Cobra Kai,” fans weren’t exactly thrilled by the recreation.
Ian Holm, who starred with Sigourney Weaver in the original “Alien” film and died in 2020, had his likeness recreated by AI in the newly released “Alien: Romulus.” (Robert Penn/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock )
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“The fake Ian Holm in ‘Romulus’ may be a cynical attempt at using a dead man’s face and voice for the sake of nostalgia but at least it also looks terrible and can never be changed and everyone who watches it will be subjected to it for the rest of time,” one person declared on X.
The film’s director, Fede Alvarez, defended the decision, explaining to the Los Angeles Times he had reached out to Holm’s widow, Sophie de Stempel, to ask for her input and approval.
“We did it all with a lot of respect and always with the authorization of his family, his children and his widow, who said, ‘We would love to see his likeness again,’” Alvarez said.
“In the last 10 years after ‘The Hobbit,’ Ian Holm felt like Hollywood had turned its back on him, and his widow felt he would have loved to be a part of this,” the director said. “He loved this character in particular.”
Fede Alvarez attends the U.K. gala screening of “Alien: Romulus” at Cineworld Leicester Square in central London. (Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)
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To recreate Holm, an animatronic that looked like the late actor was used on set and puppeteered, with British actor Daniel Betts on set reading lines for the cast and doing facial capture. Betts’ voice was later altered to sound more like Holm’s using generative AI and computer modeling, according to the LA Times.
“We’re not bringing someone back to life and saying, ‘Ian would have done it that way,’” Alvarez said. “He would have obviously done it differently. We had an actor who was on the set who worked on the dialogue, who worked with the actors. It’s not like we skipped hiring an actor.”
