Danny Stokes

Dutch may have been the purest Cobra of them all. Merciless and dangerous through and through. That’s what we loved about him. And it was all because of Chad McQueen’s performance. When interviewing writers for Cobra Kai, if the candidate didn’t know who Dutch was, it was an uphill battle for them. If they brought him up unprompted, their chances of making the staff skyrocketed. Dutch was that important to us. We always wanted Chad McQueen to appear on the show. And it almost happened a couple of times. Chad was torn. His racing injuries limited his capabilities, but he loved the idea of playing again with his pal, @william_zabka. They had so much fun together while making Karate Kid. Before Season 6, word got to us that Chad had decided he was ready to join the party. Josh, Hayden, and I drove out to his ranch to meet him in person for the very first time. He and his family greeted us warmly. He was as unique and hilarious as we’d heard from Billy all these years. He took us on a tour of his property and showed us some of the most incredible film and racing memorabilia we’d ever seen in person. The love and respect he had for his father’s work was beautiful to witness. We left Chad’s place excited and determined to make Dutch’s return special. And yes, we dropped his name in episode 602 partly to keep him fresh in the audience’s mind. We wrote a scene for him much later in the season. Dutch was still badass. The scene had pathos. It would have blown young Jon, Josh, and Hayden’s minds. Unfortunately, Chad was unable to join us when it came time to shoot. At the end of the day, it wasn’t meant to be. But Dutch will always be remembered as a badass’ badass in the Miyagiverse. He kicked ass. He hated “Danielle.” And he loved riding bikes with his boys. The fandom mourns a Karate Kid legend today. I’m so grateful I had the honor of spending an afternoon with him. Sending much love and strength to his wonderful family. May Chad rest in peace. #ripchadmcqueen #karatekid #cobrakai