Cobra KaiStar Martin Kove Reveals an Alternate Ending for His Character — and Why It Didn't Make the Cut (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Martin Kove at the Los Angeles Premiere of Paramount+ Series “1923” Season 2.Photo:Frazer Harrison/Getty

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Martin Koveis satisfied with howCobra Kai’s final season left his character,John Kreese, but there was another way his story could have, and almost did, end.

While speaking exclusively with PEOPLE at the premiere of season 2 of1923in Los Angeles,The Karate Kidactor, 77, said there was an alternateendingfilmed for his character that was ultimately decided against.

In the final moments of the penultimate episode of the series, Kreese gets into a confrontation on a yacht with Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). Amid their fighting, the pair knock over a large fuel tank, and Kreese later takes his cigar and throws it into the fuel, setting off an explosion that destroys the boat and presumably kills them both. Their bodies, however, are not seen in the aftermath.

“A lot of the fans think that the character, he should have come out of the water and survived, [and] we did shoot a scene like that," Kove said. “We did shoot a scene where … I’m smoking the cigar and I grab a magazine.”

“It implies in episode 15 [the series finale] that he didn’t die, but they didn’t use it because they thought it was a little hokey,” he continued, referencingCobra Kaishowrunners. “The ship was such a big explosion. But I understood the motivation.”

Martin Kove as John Kreese in ‘Cobra Kai’.Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix

Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix

According to Kove, Kreese’s death could be looked at as “questionable anyway, because my character always comes out of the dark of the cliffhanger.”

“So even though it’s the last season, it’ll live on because Cobra Kai never dies,” he added.

Jon Hurwitz, one ofCobra Kai’s creators and showrunners, spoke about the alternate ending in a Feb. 20Instagram post.

“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,” he further explained.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

As for his feelings on his character overall, Kove told PEOPLE he was pleased with Kreese’s progression throughout the show.

“I’ve been pushing vulnerability for this character for a long time, and sometimes he gets it, sometimes he doesn’t," he said.

“But the way it ended … it just was rich,” Kove added. “It’s what I like to do more than kicking ass and all that.”

“I like the fact that they took the character all the way from the darkest place inKarate Kid," he continued. “I signed on to do the deal only if they’d write vulnerable scenes and show how he got to be the way he was, and they did, slowly, in five seasons, exactly what I wanted to do.”

Cobra Kai, which premiered in May 2018, served as a sequel series to the originalThe Karate Kidfilms, withRalph MacchioandWilliam Zabkareprising their roles of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, respectively.

The Emmy-nominated series is set decades after the films and sees Kove’s Kreese take over the Cobra Kai Dojo from Zabka’s Lawrence in hopes of guiding a new generation of karate kids.

All six seasons ofCobra Kaiare now streaming on Netflix.

source: people.com