The number of actors the Netflix TV series Cobra Kai has brought back to reprise their characters from the Karate Kid films has been very impressive. Not only do you have Ralph Macchio and William Zabka back as Daniel Larusso and Johnny Lawrence, but there’s also Martin Kove and Thomas Ian Griffith as villains John Kreese and Terry Silver, Yuji Okumoto and Sean Kanan as villains-turned-allies Chozen Toguchi and Mike Barnes; Ron Thomas, Rob Garrison, and Tony O’Dell as Johnny’s former Cobra Kai buddies; and appearances by Elisabeth Shue as Ali Mills, Tamlyn Tomita as Kumiko, and Robyn Lively as Jessica Andrews. They even brought Traci Toguchi back as Yuna, the “Girl Bell Ringer” she played in The Karate Kid Part II. But one actor who might not be returning from the films is Hilary Swank, who played Julie Pierce in the 1994 film The Next Karate Kid.

Daniel,...