Avatar: The Last Airbender (upcoming TV series)

Avatar: The Last Airbender is an upcoming American adventure fantasy streaming television series. It is a live-action adaptation of the 2005 animated series of the same name. It was first announced in September 2018. Albert Kim is set to be the showrunner, with an ensemble cast including Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio Tarbell, Ian Ousley, Dallas Liu, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Elizabeth Yu and Daniel Dae Kim. The series is set to premiere on Netflix and will consist of eight hour-long episodes.^[1]

Premise[]

The series is set in an Asiatic, war-torn world where certain people can "bend" one of the four classical elements—water, earth, fire, or air. Aang is the "Avatar", the only one capable of bending all the elements and is destined to bring peace to the world from the Fire Nation. With his new companions Katara and Sokka, Aang sets out to master the elements while pursued by the exiled Fire Nation prince Zuko, who seeks to regain his honor by capturing the Avatar.^[2]

Cast and characters[]

Main[]

• Gordon Cormier as Avatar Aang: A free-spirited twelve-year-old airbender who was frozen in ice for a hundred years. When he wakes up, all the other airbenders have been wiped out by the Fire Nation and he is beholden on a quest to end the war and become the figurehead of balance and harmony for the world as the Avatar.^[3]
• Kiawentiio Tarbell as Katara: A fourteen-year-old who is the last waterbender of her tribe after her mother was killed by the Fire Nation. Despite her personal tragedy, she joins Aang on his journey while growing to her true potential.^[3]
• Ian Ousley as Sokka: Katara's sixteen-year-old brother who has taken up becoming the quasi-leader of their tribe after their father left to fight in the war. He joins Aang on his mission along with Katara, and makes up for his lack of bending abilities with his intelligence and resourcefulness.^[3]
• Dallas Liu as Zuko: The scarred, exiled crown prince of the Fire Nation, bent on capturing the Avatar to end his banishment and regain his honor.^[3]
• Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh: A retired Fire Nation general and the wise and nurturing uncle and mentor to Zuko.^[4]
• Elizabeth Yu as Azula: The cunning and prodigiously-gifted princess of the Fire Nation and Zuko's younger sister.^[5]
• Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai: The tyrannical ruler of the Fire Nation, and Zuko and Azula's father. Kim previously voiced General Fong in the animated series.^[6]

Recurring[]

• Maria Zhang as Suki: The leader of Kyoshi Island's elite all-female soldiers, the Kyoshi Warriors.^[5]
• Ken Leung as Commander Zhao: An ambitious, yet arrogant, ruthless and dishonorable Fire Nation naval officer and Zuko's bitter main rival in his pursuit of the Avatar.^[4]
• Lim Kay Siu as Gyatso: A mischievous, chipper, kind and caring Air Nomad monk who is Aang's mentor and father figure.^[4]
• Yvonne Chapman as Avatar Kyoshi: The legendary earthbender Avatar preceding Aang's previous incarnation, Avatar Roku.^[5]
• Tamlyn Tomita as Yukari: Suki's mother and the fiercely protective mayor of her small village on Kyoshi Island.^[5]
• Casey Camp-Horinek as Gran Gran: The matriarch of the Southern Water Tribe, and Katara and Sokka's grandmother.^[5]

Production[]

Development[]

In September 2018, Netflix announced that a "reimagined" live-action remake of Avatar was to start production in 2019. The series' original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, were initially announced to be the executive producers and showrunners.^[7][8] In June 2020, the creators departed the series due to creative differences. This was revealed after DiMartino published an open letter on his own website on August 12, 2020. The pair cited differences in their approach to the show compared with Netflix's vision, also citing a "negative and unsupporting" environment during their time with the studio.^{[9][10][11][12]} In August 2021, Albert Kim had officially joined as a writer, executive producer and showrunner; he commented in a blog post: "My first thought was, 'Why? What is there I could do or say with the story that wasn't done or said in the original?' But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became. We'll be able to see bending in a real and visceral way we've never seen before."^[13] In the same post, Kim emphasized that "throughout this process, our byword has been 'authenticity.' To the story. To the characters. To the cultural influences. Authenticity is what keeps us going, both in front of the camera and behind it." Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore, Michael Goi, and Roseanne Liang were also announced as executive producers with Goi and Liang both directing episodes of the series.^[14][13]

Casting[]

The creators are committed to "culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed casting" according to a statement from Konietzko.^[15] In August 2021 following leaked casting reports, Netflix revealed the show's cast for the main four characters: Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio Tarbell, Ian Ousley and Dallas Liu as Aang, Katara, Sokka and Zuko respectively.^[13] Kim felt that "this was a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly exists, very similar to the one we live in."^[16] In November 2021, Daniel Dae Kim, who previously voiced General Fong in the animated series and later, Hiroshi Sato in The Legend of Korra, joined the cast of the series as Fire Lord Ozai.^[6] Later that month, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Lim Kay Siu, and Ken Leung joined the cast of the series, playing Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao respectively.^[4] In December, Elizabeth Yu, Yvonne Chapman, Tamlyn Tomita, Casey Camp-Horinek and Maria Zhang were added to the cast, respectively playing Azula, Avatar Kyoshi, Yukari (an original character), Gran Gran and Suki.^[5]

Co-creator Bryan Konietzko said that he was hoping to include Dante Basco, the original voice actor who played Zuko.^[17]

Filming[]

Production and filming began in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 16, 2021, and is expected to last until May 2022, under the working title Trade Winds and Blue Dawn.^{[14][18][4][19]}

Music[]

Jeremy Zuckerman, who composed music for the original show, was originally set to return to compose the music for the remake^[20] but later denied his involvement with the show after DiMartino and Konietzko left the project.^[21]

Release[]

Avatar: The Last Airbender will be released on Netflix.

References[]