The Cobra Kai saga may have come to a fiery conclusion, but according to Martin Kove, his character John Kreese almost had a very different fate. While Kove is satisfied with how the show ended Kreese’s storyline, he recently revealed that an alternate ending was filmed—but ultimately scrapped.
Martin Kove’s Cobra Kai character John Kreese’s final moments: A death or a cliffhanger?
In Cobra Kai’s penultimate episode, Kreese faces off against his longtime rival, Terry Silver (played by Thomas Ian Griffith), on a yacht. During the intense fight, a fuel tank is knocked over, and Kreese, in true cinematic fashion, tosses his cigar into the fuel. The result? A massive explosion that destroys the boat, leaving both Kreese and Silver presumably dead—though their bodies are never shown.
Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE at the 1923 Season 2 premiere in Los Angeles, Kove, 77, shared that a different version of Kreese’s fate was shot, one that would have kept his character’s survival ambiguous.
The deleted scene: Does Kreese survive?
“A lot of the fans think the character should have come out of the water and survived. We did shoot a scene like that,” Kove revealed.
In this alternate ending, Kreese would have been seen smoking a cigar and picking up a magazine—hinting that he escaped the explosion and lived to fight another day. However, the scene was ultimately cut.
“The showrunners felt it was a little hokey,” Kove explained. “The explosion was so massive that they thought it wouldn’t be credible. But I understood the motivation.”
Despite the explosion, Kove suggests that Kreese’s death remains “questionable.”
“My character always comes out of the dark of the cliffhanger,” he teased, leaving the door open for fan theories and speculation. “Even though it’s the last season, Cobra Kai will live on because Cobra Kai never dies.”
Co-creator Jon Hurwitz also addressed the deleted scene on Instagram, sharing an image of a prop magazine featuring Terry Silver on the cover. Originally, this magazine was supposed to subtly suggest that Kreese had survived. However, once the explosive yacht scene was finalized, the team decided against including it.
“At the end of the day, we wanted our finale to end triumphantly and with credibility—not with an absurd confirmation that somehow John Kreese survived that fiery blast,” Hurwitz wrote.
Martin Kove’s take on John Kreese’s growth
Looking back at his character’s journey, Kove expressed satisfaction with how Kreese evolved throughout the series.
“I’ve been pushing vulnerability for this character for a long time,” Kove shared. “Sometimes he gets it, sometimes he doesn’t. But the way it ended … it was rich. It’s what I like to do more than just kicking ass.”
The actor revealed that when he signed on for Cobra Kai, he insisted that Kreese’s backstory be explored.
“I only agreed to do it if they wrote vulnerable scenes and showed how he became who he was. And they did, slowly, over five seasons—exactly what I wanted.”
Originally premiering in May 2018, Cobra Kai brought back fan-favorite characters from The Karate Kid, with Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reprising their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. The Emmy-nominated series expanded the beloved franchise, introducing a new generation of karate warriors while honoring its roots.
Though Cobra Kai has officially wrapped, its influence on pop culture remains undeniable. And with discussions of potential spinoffs—including a possible Miyagi-verse expansion—fans may not have seen the last of the dojo just yet.
All six seasons of Cobra Kai are now streaming on Netflix. Stay tuned for more updates on the future of The Karate Kid universe!