Cobra Kai’s Chad McQueen dedication explained

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2 features a dedication to Chad McQueen before the end credits – here’s how that tribute connects to The Karate Kid.

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2 is now streaming on Netflix, the middle instalments of the show’s final season.

Episode 1 featured the students of Miyagi-Do and the Cobra Kai dojo meeting at the Sekai Taiki tournament in Barcelona, to do battle with young karate masters from all over the world.

There was romance, in-fighting, and arguments, before the episode ended with a battle on the mat. Then the end credits rolled, but not before a brief dedication that reads “Chad McQueen – 1960-2024 – Cobra Kai Never Dies.”

Cobra Kai Chad McQueen dedication explained

Chad McQueen was an actor and race car driver who died earlier this year, and was best known for his role as Dutch in the original Karate Kid movie.

Chadwick Steven McQueen was born on December 20, 1960, and acting was clearly in his blood as his father was a movie star and Hollywood legend Steve McQueen.

Following brief appearances in the movies Skateboard and Hadley’s Rebellion, McQueen played bleached-blond bully Dutch in The Karate Kid.

A member of John Kreese’s villainous Cobra Kai dojo, Dutch was one of a group of karate kids who made Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) life a misery before their leader Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) lost to LaRusso in the All-Valley Karate Championship at the end of the movie.

Roles in straight-to-video action movies like Martial Law, Death Ring, and Red Line followed before McQueen retired from acting to pursue his first love – racing.

He drove in the Sports Car Club of America, winning multiple events before a crash at Daytona cut that career short. But he remained in the sport, eventually launching McQueen Racing to develop high-speed custom cars and motorcycles.

That injury, plus work commitments, prevented him from appearing in Cobra Kai alongside the rest of the villainous gang, and McQueen died from organ failure on September 11, 2024, at his home in Palm Desert.

In an emotional post on Twitter, McQueen’s Karate Kid co-star Billy Zabka wrote: “Sadly, we lost the legendary Chad McQueen yesterday. I have so many great memories of him when we were filming The Karate Kid. He was one of kind.

“He marched to the beat of his own drum and always made me laugh. We would caravan to set everyday, him in his silver Porsche, music blasting, and me in my badass Honda Accord. He was the baddest of the OG Cobra’s in the most fun and entertaining way.”

Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2 is currently streaming on Netflix. Take a look at more TV shows streaming this month and the best TV shows of the year so far.