33 years later, Zabka reprised the role in the sequel YouTube Red and Netflix television series Cobra Kai (2018–2025), where he served as the main protagonist.

in Cobra Kai, set decades after the original film, Johnny is depicted as having become a depressed alcoholic repairman who has a strained relationship with his son Robby, in contrast to Daniel, who has become a highly successful car salesman.

In the aftermath of the destruction of his car, loss of his job, and getting arrested, a disgruntled Johnny chooses to reopen the long-closed Cobra Kai and trains his neighbor Miguel Diaz, whom he comes to see as a son.

Johnny moved to the upscale neighborhood of Encino, California, after his mother, Laura married Sid Weinberg, an executive producer for Lorimar Television.

One day in 1979, while riding his bicycle, a 12-year-old Johnny discovered the Cobra Kai dojo and spent the next five years learning Tang Soo Do under sensei John Kreese.

Johnny entered the All-Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament for the first time in 1981 but failed to make the finals after losing to the much more experienced Darryl Vidal in the quarter-finals.

Johnny made the All-Valley finals for a third time in 1984, after easily avenging his defeat in the 1981 tournament over Vidal in the semi-finals, but lost to LaRusso.

After leaving Cobra Kai, Johnny became aimless for decades, spending most of his time partying and eventually dated a fellow alcoholic, Shannon Keene.

In 2017, after spending several years working as a handyman in Reseda, Johnny chanced upon a new neighbor (Miguel Diaz) being targeted by a group of bullies.

Johnny is the top student of the Cobra Kai dojo, and best friends with its strongest members: Bobby Brown, Tommy, Jimmy, Vlad and Dutch.

Their sensei is John Kreese, a ruthless master of Tang Soo Do karate and a United States Army veteran from the Vietnam War.

New Jersey native Daniel LaRusso, who recently moved to the area, tries to stick up for Ali, and Johnny beats him up with his karate skills.

The next day, Mr. Miyagi confronts Kreese at the Cobra Kai dojo and proposes that Daniel and Johnny's feud be settled in the upcoming tournament.

At the tournament, Johnny quickly advances to the finals, scoring three unanswered points against a highly skilled opponent in his semi-final match.

He further humiliates Kreese by mocking Cobra Kai's founding tenets and tweaking his nose after halting a fatal blow deathly close to its target.

Now in his 50s, Johnny is a down-on-his-luck alcoholic loner who is estranged from his now-teenaged son Robby who he had with his ex-girlfriend Shannon Keene when both were younger, spending most of his time eating junk food, drinking Coors Banquet and often resorting to bottles of whiskey when depressed.

[9] He appears to be oblivious to most technology released after the 1990s, as he still carries a flip phone and is unfamiliar with the Internet and social media platforms such as Facebook.

In addition, Johnny cites Iron Eagle as his favorite movie and others 80's movies like First Blood, Over the Top, Bloodsport, Young Guns II, Best of the Best and the Rocky saga, and continues to listen to classic 1980s rock music, like Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Twisted Sister, AC/DC, Metallica and Guns N' Roses.

The duo re-encounter each other after Johnny's red Pontiac Firebird is towed to his dealership following a hit and run committed by Yasmine, a friend of Daniel's daughter Samantha.

One night, Johnny intervenes after witnessing his teenage neighbor Miguel Diaz being harassed by a group of rich bullies at a convenience store.

Johnny initially struggles to gain new students, but after Miguel beats up Kyler and his crew in the cafeteria while they are confronting Sam, dozens of new recruits flock to the dojo.

As the dojo gains more students, Johnny gradually earns enough money to keep it afloat and pay back Sid, vowing to never return to him again.

When Miguel exploits Robby's injured shoulder against his sensei's wishes, Johnny realizes that his teaching methods have corrupted his students.

At the start of the season, Johnny addresses the unethical tactics committed by Miguel and Hawk against his son Robby during the tournament and downgrades his entire team back to white belts to further discipline them, banning any form of cheating or dirty fighting from the dojo despite their "no mercy" teachings.

To further promote his dojo, Johnny has his Dodge Challenger repainted black and decorated with Cobra Kai logos, and has the sound system replaced with a cassette player for his mixtape collection.

Making matters worse, a massive conflict between the two dojos' students erupts on the first day of school, beginning with Cobra Kai student Tory Nichols picking a fight with Daniel's daughter Samantha in retaliation for a drunken kiss with Miguel at Moon's party and ending with Johnny’s son Robby inadvertently putting Miguel in the hospital.

In order to make amends, Johnny acquires funding for Miguel's surgery by stealing one of Sid's statues to sell at a pawn shop.

Eventually, the tensions explode into a karate match between Johnny and Daniel, which ends with no clear winner, and the two cease working together and decide to train their dojos separately.

After Hawk defeats Robby in the All-Boys tournament and Sam makes it to the overall finals, Daniel approaches Johnny and they agree to team up against Cobra Kai after noticing that both students have used both styles of karate with success.

While silently reminiscing about opening the dojo, Robby arrives, where they briefly connect over their shared failures with their students after the former witnessed his protégé Kenny's increasingly violent behavior against Daniel's son Anthony due to Cobra Kai's influence, and the two reconnect with a hug.