‘Cobra Kai’ Star Tanner Buchanan Is a ‘Super Fan’ of a Resurging Animated Phenomenon
Tanner Buchanan currently plays Robby Keene in Cobra Kai, which is now available for streaming on Netflix. The show takes place more than three decades after LaRusso famously face-kicked fierce opponent, Johnny Lawrence in The Karate Kid.
The show pays homage to the original franchise — with flackbacks to Mr.Miyagi and the return of John Kreese’s infamous Cobra Kai dojo. This time around, LaRusso and Lawrence are the new instructors. Their students go head-to-head over adolescent drama, love triangles, betrayal, life perspectives, and more.
Tanner Buchanan plays one of the show’s primary protagonists, and he is one of many cast members responsible for the resurgence in fascination with the original franchise. Buchanan also happens to be a “super fan” of an animated series that’s receiving renewed attention as of late…thanks to Netflix.
Tanner Buchanan is a huge fan of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’
The Cobra Kai cast sat down for an interview with Entertainment Weekly for Comic-Con, during which each member took some time to reveal shows they have always loved. When asked what they’re “super fans of,” Buchanan replied:
I’d probably say…I saw someone walking around, and they had an Avatar: The Last Airbender pin on. I would probably say that’s the one TV show that I’m really super crazy about…Heard that there’s possibly a live-action one coming out, so I’m really excited about that. And, now I’m talking too much…getting too excited
Tanner Buchanan via Entertainment Weekly
Tanner Buchanan loved the original Avatar: The Last Airbender series, which confronted mature themes and life-or-death situations while remaining a children’s show. The original series was a great triumph, and the Netflix exposure has brought old and new fans back to the series. As for his fellow cast members, they love a handful of other movies and shows.
The ‘Cobra Kai’ cast includes fans of all different movies and shows
The rest of the cast also got to talk about their favorite movies and shows. Mary Mouser (who plays Samatha LaRusso) explained that she used to walk around in fangs and avoid the sun to convince people she was a vampire, as she was a major Twilight fan.
Xolo Maridueña (who portrays Miguel Diaz) explained that he loves Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, before going on to note that it’s kind of “old,” which garnered an “it’s not old” response from Ralph Maccio. He also mentioned Brooklyn Nine-Nine as a current favorite.
William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) explained that Curb Your Enthusiasm is one of his favorites, and he also really likes Barry. Maccio chimed in to note how “great” Barry is.
Martin Kove (Kreese) loves The Outlander, explaining that he considers “all of us” time travelers. In short, the show is filled with various actors — with different favorite shows and born in different generations — all coming together to work on a successful follow-up series to the original The Karate Kid franchise.
