When the sixth and final season of "Cobra Kai" crane-kicks off on Netflix on July 18 — the 15-episode season will be released in three parts, with the second installment arriving on the streamer on November 28 and the final five episodes to follow on a to-be-announced date in 2025 — Miyagi-Do fans will get to catch up with many of the show's beloved returning characters, including Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña).
Though the older actors, who launched the original "Karate Kid" franchise on which "Cobra Kai" is based back in 1984, are used to portraying their characters across many years, it was a new experience for Maridueña, who recently discussed with Forbes how both he and his character Miguel have transformed since the martial-arts dramedy first premiered back in 2018.
"Miguel has changed tenfold," the actor told the publication. "Since the first time we met him, there's a level of confidence and surety I think that Miguel is able to find after getting to go on this excursion to figure out his family roots. For me, that was really a big turning point."
In "Cobra Kai" season 5, Miguel traveled to Mexico looking for his biological father, Hector Salazar, but reunited with Johnny when he realized that Hector was a dangerous criminal.
Playing Miguel across seven years has also affected the actor himself, who was only 16 when he landed the role. "I think now as a 23-year-old, I'm able to bring things, experiences, emotions to a 17-year-old Miguel that maybe if I was 17 I wouldn't be able to," Maridueña shared.
"Getting to really find who this character is and live in these shoes for seven years has been one of the most comforting and warm experiences of my life," he continued. "I think it has prepared me to lead with my heart first and work as hard as I can to make sure that other people will feel comfortable on set as well."
Season 6 of the series will see Miguel have to deal with "normal kid" stuff like college acceptances (he's got his heart set on Stanford) and his romantic relationship with Sam LaRusso (Mary Mouser), but also plenty of karate-related drama, as the Miyago-Do students are set to compete in the big Sekai Taikai tournament, an international karate competition featuring the finest fighters in the world.
However, Maridueña believes that Diaz has what it takes to handle whatever is thrown at him in the upcoming season, telling Forbes: "Miguel is very wise, and getting to work through those hardships just like all of us are in our day-to-day life are really the character-building moments."
And Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all developments about Miguel Diaz and the rest of the "Cobra Kai" characters, including behind-the-scenes tidbits, casting intel, showrunner insights and more. And while you wait for those first five episodes of season 6 to drop on July 18, you can revisit the previous five seasons of the karate comedy-drama with a Netflix subscription.
