Avatar sandbox

***Avatar*** is an American multimedia franchise that is centered on a series of action-adventure fantasy films based on the Nickelodeon animated television series *Avatar: The Last Airbender* and its sequel series *The Legend of Korra*. The films are co-produced by Moonlight Pictures and Avatar Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the second live-action film adaptation of *Avatar: The Last Airbender*, following Nickelodeon Movies' *The Last Airbender* in 2010.

The series consists of two tetralogies, the first based on *Avatar: The Last Airbender* and the second based on *The Legend of Korra*.

## History

Moonlight Pictures and Raydon Entertainment have been working on a live-action *Avatar* film since 2014 with a draft being completed in mid-2015 under the title of *Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book One: Water* and was intended to be the first in a trilogy of films. A second draft was completed in late-2016 and in 2017 the film was set up at Fanatic Films, a newly formed studio at Raydon dedicated to non-profit fan films and was given a modest budget of $5,000. No further updates were given at the time.

On September 18, 2018, it was announced that original *Avatar* creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko would be teaming up with Netflix to produce a live-action remake of the original series, throwing the future of Raydon's fan film into doubt without any news in a year. The studio responded by saying they had placed the film on hold for now and that they were in negotiations to acquire the license to an "international icon," with that deal being their number one priority. It was announced in December 2019 that the "international icon" was Godzilla and that Raydon Entertainment would produce a series of films utilizing multiple monsters from the Japanese films.

On August 12, 2020, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko both revealed on their social media that they had departed the show due to creative differences.

In February 2021, ViacomCBS announced Avatar Studios, a new division of Nickelodeon centered on developing animated series and films set in the *Avatar* universe, to be distributed via Nickelodeon's linear and digital offerings, as well as Paramount+, theatres, and third-party services. The division is helmed by original series creators DiMartino and Konietzko, who are its co-chief creative officers and report to Nickelodeon Animation president Ramsey Ann Naito. The company also stated the studio would team-up with Raydon Entertainment to begin production of a live-action film in 2021. The film is based on the 2017 draft from Raydon with re-wrties being handled by Aaron Ehasz, the headwriter of the original animated series.

In April 2021, Raydon and Paramount revealed that they were planning to release multiple *Avatar* films as long as people go out and see this first one and enjoy it.

## Films

* *The Legend of Korra: Turning Tides* (2030)
* *The Legend of Korra: A Light in the Dark* (2031)
* *The Legend of Korra: The Terror Within* (2032)
* *The Legend of Korra: The Last Stand* (2033)

### Short films

* *Secret Tunnel* (2023) - theatrical short film attached to screening of *Crossroads of Destiny.*
* *The Tales of Ba Sing Se* (2023) - short film released on the *Crossroads of Destiny* Blu-ray/DVD.
* *The Beach* (2024) - theatrical short film attached to screenings of *Black Sun*.
* *Ember Island Players* (2025) - theatrical short film attached to screenings of *The Journey's End*.
* *The Legend of Wan* (2031) - theatrical short film attached to screenings of *A Light in the Dark.*
* *Remembrances* (2033) - theatrical short film attached to screenings of *The Last Stand.*

## Other media

In addition to the films, Raydon and Paramount have licensed *Avatar*-related media including books and video games.

### Books

* *The Legend of Aang: The Avatar Returns - The Official Movie Novelization* (2022)
* *The Art of The Avatar Returns* (2022) - Concept art and behind-the-scenes companion to *The Legend of Aang: The Avatar Returns.*
* *The Legend of Aang: Crossroads of Destiny - The Official Movie Novelization* (2023)
* *The Art of Crossroads of Destiny* (2023) - Concept art and behind-the-scenes companion to *The Legend of Aang: Crossroads of Destiny.*
* *The Legend of Aang: Black Sun - The Official Movie Novelization* (2024)
* *The Art of Black Sun* (2024) - Concept art and behind-the-scenes companion to *The Legend of Aang: Black Sun.*
* *The Legend of Aang: The Journey's End - The Official Movie Novelization* (2025)
* *The Art of The Journey's End* (2025) - Concept art and behind-the-scenes companion to *The Legend of Aang: The Journey's End.*
* *The Legend of Korra: Turning Tides - The Official Movie Novelization* (2030)
* *The Art of Turning Tides* (2030) - Concept art and behind-the-scenes companion to *The Legend of Korra: Turning Tides.*
* *The Legend of Korra: A Light in the Dark - The Official Movie Novelization* (2031)
* *The Art of A Light in the Dark* (2031) - Concept art and behind-the-scenes companion to *The Legend of Korra: A Light in the Dark.*
* *The Legend of Korra: The Terror Within - The Official Movie Novelization* (2032)
* *The Art of The Terror Within* (2032) - Concept art and behind-the-scenes companion to *The Legend of Korra: The Terror Within.*
* *The Legend of Korra: The Last Stand - The Official Movie Novelization* (2033)
* *The Art of The Last Stand* (2033) - Concept art and behind-the-scenes companion to *The Legend of Korra: The Last Stand.*

### Video games

* *The Avatar Returns* (2022) - PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S