Avatar: The Terminal Airbender is a coming-of-age story that follows Aang, a 12-year-old boy who is the key to saving the world. Along the way, Aang meets his friends Katara, Sokka, and others as they liberate the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdoms from the reign of the Burn down Nation. The hit Nickelodeon serial has already been given the live-action treatment once earlier, just that won't stop Netflix from giving information technology another go.

The Netflix adaptation has been in development since 2018, and now, iii years later, things are ramping up. We finally have more than information on the upcoming projection and what nosotros can expect from the serial. Here is everything nosotros know nigh Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The Story

In the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, people are built-in into one of iv nations: the Water Tribe, World Kingdoms, Air Nomads, and the Fire Nation. Depending on which nation you're a office of, yous might take the ability to be a "bender" — someone who can literally bend your nation's element to your volition. But the Avatar tin primary all 4 elements considering he serves as the bridge betwixt the humans and the spirit world.

After the Fire Nation goes to state of war with the rest of the world, Aang, the current Avatar, must journey across the globe in an effort to master all four elements before it's also belatedly. Aang must make new allies like Sokka and Katara, while besides evading enemies like Prince Zuko.

Netflix isn't attempting to gear up what wasn't broken. The main plot of the series volition follow Aang'south journey to condign a fully realized Avatar while likewise giving them more than room to develop the supporting bandage and subplots that might have been brushed off in the original, using the extra runtime to its advantage. The animated series is a standard half-hour program and while it's dearest by many, it could have benefited from longer episodes — for example, Aang and Katara learn waterbending at a very rushed pace. Here, each episode will likely be around 40 minutes to an hour, giving the characters more than time to be fleshed out.

Release Date

As of right now, we don't take any information regarding a release date for Netflix'south Avatar. However, nosotros do know that production starts in November 2021, so we'll likely see the series hitting Netflix in belatedly 2022 or quondam in 2023.

Are the Original Creators Involved?

When the series was first announced in 2018, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko the creators behind Avatar: The Last Airbender were the producers and showrunners on the Netflix adaptation. The two had side by side to no interest with the 2010 motion picture adaptation, so fans were excited to finally accept a proper live-activity Avatar serial with the original creators at the captain.

During the announcement, Melissa Cobb, vice president of Kids Entertainment at Netflix said: "We are committed to honoring Bryan and Mike'southward vision for this retelling and are thrilled to support them on creating a live-action consequence serial, bringing Aang's ballsy world of elemental magic to life for global audiences on Netflix."

Things don't e'er go as planned and in 2020, Mike and Bryan left the project, leaving the series in limbo until Netflix found a new showrunner.

When Michael Dante DiMartino spoke about their departure, he said: "When Bryan and I signed on to the project in 2018, nosotros were hired as executive producers and showrunners. In a joint declaration for the series, Netflix said that it was committed to honoring our vision for this retelling and to supporting us on creating the series. And we expressed how excited we were for the opportunity to be at the helm. Unfortunately, things did not go as nosotros had hoped."

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DiMartino went on to add: "I realized I couldn't command the creative direction of the serial, but I could control how I responded. So, I chose to leave the project. It was the hardest professional decision I've ever had to make, and certainly not one that I took lightly, merely it was necessary for my happiness and creative integrity."

In a separate statement, Bryan Konietzko said: "Though I got to work with some neat individuals, both on Netflix's side and on our own small evolution squad, the general handling of the project created what I felt was a negative and unsupportive environs.

To be clear, this was not a simple matter of us non getting our way. Mike and I are collaborative people; we did non need all of the ideas to come from u.s.. Every bit long as we felt those ideas were in line with the spirit and integrity of Avatar, we would accept happily embraced them. However, we ultimately came to the belief that we would not be able to meaningfully guide the direction of the series."

Paradigm via Netflix

The New Creative Team

Exactly one year to the twenty-four hour period later on, Netflix announced the new showrunner on the Avatar: The Last Airbender reboot. Albert Kim ( Sleepy Hollow ) now serves every bit the showrunner, executive producer, and writer of the serial. Joining Kim will be executive producers Dan Lin ( The Lego Movie ) and Lindsey Liberatore ( Walker ), Roseanne Liang ( Creamerie ), and Michael Goi ( American Horror Story ).

Kim released a letter to fans later on the news broke of his interest and said: "Netflix's format meant we had an opportunity to reimagine a story that had originally been told in self-contained half-hour episodes as an ongoing serialized narrative. That meant story points and emotional arcs we'd loved in the original could exist given even more than room to breathe and grow."

Kim also wants to assure fans that they won't be making pointless changes to the characters and will stay shut to the source material. He went on to say: "I also knew what I didn't desire to do. I didn't want to change things for the sake of change. I didn't want to modernize the story or twist it to fit current trends. Aang is non going to be a gritty antihero. Katara is not going to get pall bangs."

The new team backside the project isn't simply going to copy and paste the animated serial to live-action, just instead, expand on everything the original serial built up. Kim added: "Don't become me wrong. We'll exist expanding and growing the globe, and there will exist surprises for existing fans and those new to the tale. But throughout this process, our catchword has been "authenticity." To the story. To the characters. To the cultural influences. Authenticity is what keeps us going, both in forepart of the camera and backside information technology, which is why nosotros've assembled a team unlike any seen before—a grouping of talented and passionate artists who are working effectually the clock to bring this rich and incredibly beautiful globe to life."

We will probable never know what transpired between the original creators and Netflix, merely the ii did not leave on the best of terms with the company. Thankfully, fans will still run across them involved with Avatar Studios, a newly formed branch of Nickelodeon fix to bring us even more animated chance in the Avatar universe.

Paradigm via Netflix

The Cast Members

Along with the new creative squad, Netflix announced the main bandage for Avatar: The Terminal Airbender. As of now, merely a handful of characters are officially announced, with more on the way every bit we get closer to the outset of production.

Gordon Cormier ( The Stand ) will lead the series as Avatar Aang. A fun-loving 12-year old boy with the weight of the globe on his shoulders. The pain and guilt that Aang has is immeasurable, he'southward the last airbender and the earth'due south only home for freedom. Cormier is going to have to channel both the child-like nature as well as the incredible spirit and eye of Aang.

Alongside Cormier will be Kiawentiio ( Anne with An E ) equally Katara. Hailing from the Southern Water Tribe, Katara is a stiff and compassionate waterbender, and has absolute faith in Team Avatar's ability to bring about peace to the earth.

Adjacent is Ian Ousley ( 13 Reasons Why ) who will be playing Sokka, Katara'due south older blood brother. At 16 years sometime, Sokka serves as the protector of his tribe and volition do whatever information technology takes to keep his sis prophylactic. Even if he has to travel around the globe to do it. Sokka is witty, clever, and the but non-bender in the main bandage, giving you an endearing underdog quality.

We besides accept Dallas Liu ( Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings ) rounding out our cast every bit Prince Zuko of the Burn down Nation. Zuko is burdened with the task of capturing the Avatar for his begetter, the Fire Lord. Serving as the main foil for our heroes, Liu will have to bring a level of dash to his performance because Zuko is a villain that toes the line of hero, depending on the situation at hand.

In November 2021, we got a peek at Daniel Dae Kim's transformation into Lord Ozai, leader of the Burn down Nation'south armies, who wants to kill the Avatar so that no 1 tin can stop him from taking over the world.

About recently, 3 new castmembers were announced on November 16: Paul Lord's day-Hyung as Uncle Iroh, Lim Kay Siu as Monk Gyatso, and Ken Leung as Commander Zhao.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is in progress now.

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