Ralph Macchio’s original The Karate Kid franchise and its spin-offs have been one of the most renowned martial arts cum drama movies and shows that entertained audiences for decades. On a recent note, Netflix’s The Karate Kid spinoff series Cobra Kai made headlines, following the return of Elisabeth Shue’s character, Ali Mills.
However, Ralph Macchio doesn’t seem quite fine with this introduction. Apparently, Elisabeth Shue was destined to return as Macchio’s girlfriend in the sequel film. But unfortunately, her character was written out of the franchise in one single line. Thus, witnessing the return of Ali Mills in Cobra Kai, rather than in the original sequel, the actor openly expressed his regret.
Cobra Kai Brought Back Elisabeth Shue’s Character, Ali Mills
The Karate Kid franchise began by starring Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in the original 1984 movie. Presenting Macchio as a teenager from New Jersey who struggled to adjust to the surrounding among bullies, the movie slowly introduced his character learning karate from his eccentric handyman, Mr. Miyagi.
Further, a part of Daniel’s journey in the original movie involved his relationship with Elisabeth Shue‘s Ali Mills. The first part of the movie featured the duo as an official couple, and Shue was thus supposed to return as Macchio’s onscreen girlfriend in the sequel. However, her character remained absent from the next part as her character was written out of the franchise by stating that Daniel and Ali had broken up.
However, years after Netflix came up with The Karate Kid’s spin-off Cobra Kai, the show redeemed Elisabeth Shue’s Ali Mills. Doing it perfectly, like it should have been, the show brought back Daniel LaRusso and Ali Mills to share the screen together. This however caused Ralph Macchio to regret how it was done previously.
Ralph Macchio Regrets How The Karate Kid Wrote Off Ali Mills
Speaking with The Guardian, Ralph Macchio thus expressed the heartbreaking experience he had when they wrote off Elisabeth Shue’s character from the original franchise. Witnessing how Cobra Kai is doing it, Macchio felt the original The Karate Kid could have done the same.
“We talked about it all, Elisabeth and I, and it got quite emotional for us both. These characters were cinema sweethearts. Things weren’t handled right. Then there were years of absence as life got in the way. But we got to have another moment as actors. And it was kind of wonderful.”
Speaking with Elisabeth Shue and having the same sort of discussion, Ralph Macchio felt how poorly the character of Ali Mills was treated back in the 80s. The actor admitted how he never previously thought about it, but with growing age, he can now see clearly how female characters were considered disposable.
“I never looked at it from the perspective of Ali’s character or from the perspective of Elisabeth as an actor…Women in movies were often thought to be disposable. I see that now. Then? I didn’t see it. It was a case of youth being wasted on the young.”
Resting his case, Ralph Macchio further proceeded with other conversations surrounding Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid.
Watch Cobra Kai on Netflix and The Karate Kid movies are streaming on Amazon Video.
Source: The Guardian
