Netflix has officially dropped the first look at their upcoming live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series. “Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony… then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked”.
Nearly 20 years after the original show’s release on Nickelodeon, the fan-favourite anime is officially getting the live-action retelling it deserves, complete with a culturally appropriate cast.
Needless to say, our first look at Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Zuko tells us that the long-awaited remake of the Nickelodeon hit series might actually live up to the standard set by fans. Complete with impressive costume designs, detailed star-cast, and visual effects that truly looks like it belongs, the new ATLA is building up to people’s expectations especially after the success of Netflix’s live-action series One Piece.
Avatar the Last Airbender: What it is about
Back in 2005, fans were first introduced to Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko’s animated show along with the Four Nations and a world full of vibrant characters. The epic tale followed the protagonist, Aang’s journey from a playful boy into a powerful avatar who mastered the four elements using the help of his friends and allies: Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Momo, Appa, Toph, and Uncle Iroh.
The award-winning acclaimed series birthed a collection of print books and comics attached to the original story and was adapted into a 2010 live-action movie. However, Netflix is bringing it to the small screens in a new way that portrays all forms of bending, supernatural creatures and the spirit world. At the core of the story, are all the characters working to bring peace to a war-torn world where the Fire Nation has caused so much wreckage.
Set to officially premiere this month on Netflix, this version of Avatar: The Last Airbender is produced by Albert Kim, who also worked as a writer, alongside Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore, Jabbar Raisani and Michael Goi. The cast will feature Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as the water-bending Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Zuko, Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai, Elizabeth Yu as Azula and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Uncle Iroh.
The original story crafted by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, Avatar: The Last Airbender is an action-adventure fantasy series that is set in a world with four clans: the Fire Nation, Air Nomads, the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom. Aang, the last survivor of his Nation, is an adolescent who awakens after a deep slumber of 100 years, and now must discover who he is as the master avatar. Not only have the Four Nations been at constant war against each other, but without the avatar, everything falls out of balance in both the physical and spirit world.
Aang feels alone as his clan, the Air Nomads, have been wiped out by the Fire Nation. He finds friendship with Katara, a waterbender and her brother Sokka, and eventually meets other allies along the journey who help him understand not only his powers, but how to navigate growing up. Not everyone in the series has such bending abilities, but once Aang masters airbending, firebending, waterbending and earthbending, he can finally put a stop to his adversary Fire Lord Ozai from taking over the world. The avatar state shows Aang at his most powerful – which can serve both as a boon or bane.
The show doesn’t fail to tap into Asian and indigenous culture and folklore, packed in laughter and emotional storyline, and carries the characters delving through war, dysfunctional family dynamics, love, loss and much more. Adventure lies in the very heart of this fantasy series, and fans will get to see action-filled martial arts sequences, budding character arcs and CGI that most marvellously brings bending and fantasy creatures to life.
The show is set to debut with all eight episodes on Netflix on 22nd February 2024.
Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/ByAn8DF8Ykk?si=cJomn7pNcXV0ydeh
