There’s no such thing as enough Avatar, if you ask me and the hype is real for Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Sure, the last live-action adaptation was considered something of a flop by, well, everyone. but I for one feel confident the series can learn from the movie’s mistakes.
With production due to start later in 2021, there’s not a lot that we know about the upcoming series, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t rumours aplenty. Here’s everything we’ve heard so far.
What will the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender be about?
The live-action will essentially follow the same plot as the animated series before it, so no big surprises here. In case you’ve been living under a rock, in a nutshell, that plot is:
A world divided into four separate nations (named after the elements) of a warring world — three of which are at war with the Fire Nation. Only Aang, the last Avatar of the air nomads, can bring harmony to the world after being asleep for 100 years.
Who’s playing the Avatar, and other characters?
Production may be ongoing, but Netflix has recently dropped the actors who’ll be bringing this new round of Avatar to life.
Aang (the 12-year-old Avatar once frozen in ice) will be played by Gordon Cormier (Lost in Space, The Stand). Kiawentiio (What If, Anne With an E), while water bending prodigy and bad-ass Katara, while her older brother Sokka will be taken on by Ian Ousley (13 Reasons Why, Sorry For Your Loss). The role of Zuko will be played by Dallas Liu (PEN15).
Already the cast has set a new tone from the animated Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, and M. Night Shyamalan’s feature film, thanks to finally casting predominantly Asian and Indigenous actors to portray a world that was, you know, inspired by Asain and Indigenous cultures.
Who’s on production?
The same casting announcement also named Dan Lin (The Lego Movie, Aladdin), Lindsey Liberatore (Walker), Michael Goi (Swamp Thing, American Horror Story) as executive producers, Albert Kim (Sleepy Hollow) as showrunner and Goi, Roseanne Liang, and Jabbar Raisani directing.
What about the original creators?
While the creators of the original animated Nickelodeon Avatar: The Last Airbender series — Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko — started on this new project, they depart in August 2020 over what was thought to be ‘creative differences’. In an open letter penned by DiMartino, he explained that yup, that was pretty much how it went down.
When will Avatar: The Last Airbender be released?
Short answer, who bloody knows. Seeing as production won’t even start until late 2021, at the moment a release date in late 2022 or even 2023 is expected.