Netflix has released a new look at its 2024 live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series, featuring only the hottest benders: The Fire Nation royal family.
The pictures are fans’ first look at Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) as royal dad Fire Lord Ozai, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka) as royal uncle Uncle Iroh, Elizabeth Yu (Somewhere in Queens) as royal daughter Princess Azula, as well as a new shot of Dallas Liu (PEN15) as royal disowned son, Prince Zuko. And also Ken Leung (Old) as not actually royal except for how he’s a royal pain in the ass, Commander Zhao.
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All four look pretty well decked out in the classic Fire Nation reds and blacks, and fans will get to see a lot more in 2024, when the eight-episode series hits Netflix.
Now, just for the sake of disambiguation, this live-action series, which will adapt the Nickelodeon animated series of the same name, is distinct from Nick’s own efforts in the area of animation.
Franchise creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko stepped away from the Netflix production in 2020, citing a “negative and unsupportive environment” and a general lack of the creative control they had expected — though they wished the folks still working on the show well.
In their wake, Albert Kim (Sleepy Hollow) stepped in as showrunner for the Netflix series, with Michael Goi (Riverdale), Jabbar Raisani (Lost in Space), and Roseanne Liang (Shadow in the Cloud) directing the first season. DiMartino and Konietzko will still have writing credits on a few of its episodes, and are currently busy heading up Avatar Studios for ViacomCBS, which is in development on an animated movie reportedly following Aang and the Gaang on a new adventure, due in 2025.
So, the Netflix Airbender: No Mike and Bryan, live-action TV series, same story as the cartoon. The Avatar Studios Airbender: Yes Mike and Bryan, animated movie, new story about the characters from the cartoon.
Or, to put it another way, it’s going to be an interesting few years for Airbender fans.