Josh Gad reunites the casts of all three Karate Kid movies on the Reunited Apart podcast

He has been bringing together the casts of numerous classic 1980s films to boost viewers’ spirits during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

And Josh Gad, 39, one-upped himself with his one of his biggest Zoom reunions to date on a Karate Kid–centric episode of his Reunited Apart podcast.

The episode, which dropped Monday on YouTube, features cast members of all three Karate Kids, as well as the Netflix series Cobra Kai, plus a surprise appearance from Amy Schumer.

Fittingly, Josh started with the Karate Kid’s lead, Ralph Macchio, though he poured some cold water on his idea for a reunion.

‘See, here’s the thing, Josh. I kind of already do a reunion of that film every week now,’ Machio joked, referencing his series Cobra Kai, which originated on YouTube before moving to Netflix. 

Unlike the films, which he led as Daniel LaRusso, Cobra Kai is primarily from the viewpoint of his rival Johnny Lawrence, with William Zabka reprising the role he originated in the first film.

After losing his job as a part-time handyman, the down-on-his-luck Johnny ends up founding a new dojo and attracting a new crop of students, though his return to martial arts also reignites his feud with Daniel.

Zabka was next up to join the Zoom, and he introduced himself with a villainous flair that matched his demeanor in the original 1984 film.

‘Couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you little twerp? No, you had to push it. Now you’re gonna pay!’ he said, before additional members of his old dojo joined the stream.

Also joining the ever-expanding group was Elisabeth Shue, who played Daniel’s love interest and Johnny’s ex-girlfriend in the first film.

She spouted lines from the late Pat Morita, who earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as Mr. Miyagi.

Morita died in 2005 at the age of 73, after becoming one of the few Asian leading men on television in the 1970s and ’80s.

Tony O’Dell and Ron Thomas, who played students in the first film, helped round out the original film’s cast. They also reprise their roles on Cobra Kai.

Even though Gad’s Zoom window already seemed full of stars, he continued adding to it by welcoming actors from the second and third Karate Kid movies, before bring out some of the cast and crew of Cobra Kai.

The behind-the-scenes crew included Robert Mark Kamen, who wrote all of the original Karate Kid films, as well as Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald. 

Making an unannounced late entrance was comedian Amy Schumer, a self-professed Karate Kid and Cobra Kai superfan.

She listed off some trivia questions for the participants, in which she revealed that Morita was originally turned down for his iconic role because he was primarily associated with comedies prior to appearing in The Karate Kid.

Although the episode appealed to Karate Kid fans, it was also for charity.

Josh revealed that Sony Pictures Television would be donating $25,000 to the charity Action Against Hunger, and he urged viewers to also donate.