Avatar: The Last Airbender (Live-action series)

This article covers a topic that is yet to be released. Information in it is set to be changed over time.

## Avatar: The Last Airbender

### Genre

* Action-adventure
* Fantasy
* Comedy drama

### Based on

*Avatar: The Last Airbender*
by: Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

### Starring

* Gordon Cormier
* Dallas Liu
* Kiawentiio Tarbell
* Ian Ousley
* Daniel Dae Kim
* Paul Sun-Hyung Lee

## Production

### Executive producer

* Dan Lin
* Lindsey Liberatore
* Michael Goi
* Roseanne Liang
* Albert Kim

### Cinematography

* Michael Goi
* Stewart Whelan
* Michael Balfry

### Production company

* Rideback
* Paramount Television Studios
* Nickelodeon Productions
* Netflix original series

## Chronology

### Related shows

* Avatar: The Last Airbender
* Avatar: The Legend of Korra

***Avatar: The Last Airbender*** is an upcoming American adventure fantasy television series. It is a live-action adaptation of the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). 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 and Daniel Dae Kim.

The series is set to premiere on Netflix and will consist of eight 1-hour-long episodes.

## 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, the "Avatar", is the "bridge" between the mortal and spirit world, and the only one capable of bending all four of the elements. The Avatar maintains the balance of the world and nature to bring peace. As the Avatar, Aang faces the task to free the world from the Fire Nation's ruthless war. 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 him.

## Cast and characters

### Main

* Gordon Cormier as Avatar Aang: A free-spirited and peaceful 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.
* 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.
* 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, resourcefulness and trusty boomerang.
* Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko: The scarred, exiled and hot-headed sixteen-year-old crown prince of the Fire Nation, bent on capturing the Avatar to end his banishment and regain his honor.
* Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as General Iroh: A retired Fire Nation general and the wise and nurturing uncle and mentor to Zuko.
* Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai: The tyrannical and sadistic ruler of the Fire Nation, and Prince Zuko and Princess Azula's father.

### Recurring

* 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.
* Maria Zhang as Suki: The leader of Kyoshi Island's elite all-female soldiers, the Kyoshi Warriors.
* Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula: The cunning and prodigiously-gifted Princess of the Fire Nation and Prince Zuko's younger sister.
* Lim Kay Siu as Gyatso: A mischievous, chipper, kind and caring Air Nomad monk who is Aang's mentor and father figure.
* A Martinez as Pakku: A waterbending master from the Northern Water Tribe who serves as Aang's teacher.
* Amber Midthunder as Princess Yue: The princess of the Northern Water Tribe and love interest of Sokka.
* Yvonne Chapman as Avatar Kyoshi: The legendary earthbender Avatar preceding Aang's previous incarnation, Avatar Roku.
* Tamlyn Tomita as Yukari: Suki's mother and the fiercely protective mayor of her small village on Kyoshi Island.
* Casey Camp-Horinek as Gran Gran: The matriarch of the Southern Water Tribe, and Katara and Sokka's grandmother.
* C. S. Lee as Avatar Roku: The firebender Avatar who precedes Aang and serves as his mentor.
* Danny Pudi as The Mechanist: A single father and inventor from the Earth Kingdom.
* Utkarsh Ambudkar as King Bumi: The elderly king of Omashu who is Aang's oldest friend.
* James Sie as the Cabbage Merchant: An unfortunate merchant who normally has his produce continually destroyed.
* Rainbow Dickerson as Kya: The mother of Sokka and Katara.
* Joel Montgrand as Hakoda: The father of Sokka and Katara.
* Arden Cho as June: A bounty hunter.
* Momona Tamada as Ty Lee: Princess Azula's acrobatic friend who is skilled in chi-blocking.
* Thalia Tran as Mai: Princess Azula's other friend who is skilled in knife throwing and Zuko's love interest.
* Joel Oulette as Hahn: An arrogant Northern Water Tribe soldier betrothed to Princess Yue.
* Nathaniel Arcand as Arnook: The chief of the Northern Water Tribe.
* Meegwun Fairbrother as Avatar Kuruk: The Northern Water Tribe Avatar preceding Kyoshi.
* Irene Bedard as Yagoda: A Northern Water Tribe healer.
* Ryan Mah as Lieutenant Dang: An officer in the Fire Nation Navy.
* François Chau as the Great Sage: The leader of the Fire Sages at the Fire Temple.
* Sebastian Amoruso as Jet: The leader of the Freedom Fighters.
* Hiro Kanagawa as Fire Lord Sozin: The Fire Lord who started the 100-year war.
* George Takei as Koh the Face Stealer: A centipede-like spirit who uses the stolen faces of his victims.
* Randall Duk Kim as Wan Shi Tong: An Owl spirit who is in charge of the Spirit Library and is very distrustful towards humans.
* Lucian-River Chauhan as Teo: The Mechanist's son.

## 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. 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. 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." 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.

It was reported that each episode cost more than $15 million to make, with eight episodes per season.

### Casting

The creators are committed to "culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed casting" according to a statement from Konietzko. 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. 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." 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. 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. 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 (a new character added as Suki's mother in replacement of the mayor of Kyoshi Island), Gran Gran and Suki.

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

In April 2022, Arden Cho and Momona Tamada joined the cast of the series in undisclosed roles. Later that month, C. S. Lee was cast as Avatar Roku. In June 2022, A Martinez and Amber Midthunder were cast as Master Pakku and Princess Yue respectively. In July 2022, it was revealed that James Sie would reprise his role as the Cabbage Merchant from the animated series. In September 2022, more additional roles were announced, with two of them being George Takei as the voice of Koh the Face Stealer and Randall Duk Kim as the voice of Wan Shi Tong.

### Filming

Production and filming began in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 16, 2021. The series was filmed under the working titles *Trade Winds* and *Blue Dawn*. Principal photography wrapped on June 17, 2022. Stewart Whelan served as a cinematographer.

### Music

Jeremy Zuckerman, who composed music for the original show, was originally set to return to compose the music for the remake but later denied his involvement with the show after DiMartino and Konietzko left the project. On February 16, 2023 it was confirmed that Award-winning Japanese-American Composer Takeshi Furukawa was attached to the project as its composer.

## Release

*Avatar: The Last Airbender* will be released on Netflix.

## References

1. ↑ Williams, Caleb (November 2021). "Today years old….learned that Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (@bitterasiandude) revealed in a Nov AMA that #AvatarTheLastAirbender will be 8 1-Hour episodes…not 10" (en). *Twitter*.
2. ↑ "Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1 will be eight one-hour episodes". *Avatar News* (March 22, 2022).
3. ↑ Petski, Denise (2021-08-12). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender': Netflix Live-Action Adaptation Sets Main Cast, Creative Team" (en-US). *Deadline Hollywood*.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Griffin, David (August 12, 2021). "Avatar: The Last Airbender: Netflix Live-Action Series Reveals Cast and Creative Team - IGN". *IGN*.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Otterson, Joe (2021-11-16). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Netflix Live-Action Series Casts Its Uncle Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao" (en). *Variety*.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Daniel Dae Kim to Star in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Netflix Live-Action Series" (en). *The Hollywood Reporter* (2021-11-03).
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 "'Avatar: The Last Airbender': Elizabeth Yu, Yvonne Chapman & Tamlyn Tomita Among 5 Added To Netflix Adaptation". *Deadline Hollywood* (December 16, 2021).
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Hussaini, Syed Fahadullah (June 19, 2022). "Avatar Live-Action Netflix Show Casts Aang's Waterbending Teacher". Screenrant. Retrieved on June 27, 2022.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Peters, Megan (June 19, 2022). "Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Has Reportedly Found Its Princess Yue". Comic Book.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Schreur, Brandon (April 26, 2022). "Avatar: The Last Airbender Casts Dexter Star as Aang's Mentor Roku". CBR. Retrieved on May 5, 2022.
11. ↑ Peters, Megan (July 22, 2022). "Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Reportedly Adds Danny Pudi to Cast". *Comic Book*.
12. ↑ Williams, Caleb (July 25, 2022). "Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Taps Utkarsh Ambudkar As King Bumi (EXCLUSIVE) - Knight Edge Media".
13. ↑ "James Sie has been cast as the cabbage merchant in the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series!". *avatarnews.co* (July 26, 2022).
14. ↑ Williams, Caleb (July 20, 2022). "Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Reunites Rainbow Dickerson With Star Kiawentiio (EXCLUSIVE) - Knight Edge Media".
15. ↑ Williams, Caleb (July 31, 2022). "Joel Montgrand Boards Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' as Hakoda of the Water Tribe".
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Williams, Caleb (April 9, 2022). "EXCLUSIVE: Arden Cho Has Joined Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' TV Series" (en). *Knight Edge Media*.
17. ↑ "Arden Cho". *maxblizz.com* (August 1, 2022).
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Williams, Caleb (April 9, 2022). "Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Also Adds Momona Tamada" (en). *Knight Edge Media*.
19. ↑ "Momona Tamada". *avatarnews.co* (August 5, 2022).
20. ↑ "Thalia Tran" (August 22, 2022).
21. ↑ "Joel Oulette & Taio Gélinas Also Join Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ As Water Tribe Members". *knightedgemedia.com* (June 20, 2022).
22. ↑ "Joel Oulette". *avatarnews.co* (August 18, 2022).
23. ↑ "Nathaniel Arcand" (August 20, 2022).
24. ↑ "Meegwun Fairbrother" (August 20, 2022).
25. ↑ "Irene Bedard" (August 21, 2022).
26. ↑ "Ryan Mah" (August 23, 2022).
27. ↑ "François Chau" (August 24, 2022).
28. ↑ "Newcomer Sebastian Amoruso Cast as Anti-Hero Jet in Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (EXCLUSIVE)". *knightedgemedia.com* (September 9, 2022).
29. ↑ "Hiro Kanagawa" (September 26, 2022).
30. ↑ "George Takei" (September 26, 2022).
31. ↑ "Randall Duk Kim" (September 26, 2022).
32. ↑ "Lucian-River Chauhan" (September 26, 2022).
33. ↑ "Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Series Coming to Netflix" (en). *The Hollywood Reporter* (September 18, 2018).
34. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (2018-09-18). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Live-Action Series In Works At Netflix" (en). *Deadline*.
35. ↑ "Michael Dante DiMartino on Instagram: "@bryankonietzko also wrote a statement concerning our departure. 🌊⛰🔥🌪 . . . . . . #avatar #avatarthelastairbender #michaeldantedimartino…"" (en). *Instagram*.
36. ↑ "Bryan Konietzko on Instagram: "Well, friends... there you have it. Big sigh. 💔⬇️💔 I'm sure many of you will understandably want to know more and will ask me questions in…"" (en). *Instagram*.
37. ↑ "An open letter to Avatar: The Last Airbender fans" (en-US). *Michael Dante DiMartino* (2020-08-12).
38. ↑ Otterson, Joe (2020-08-12). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Creators Exit Netflix Live-Action Adaptation" (en). *Variety*.
39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 Otterson, Joe (2021-08-12). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Netflix Live-Action Series Sets Main Cast" (en-US). *Variety*.
40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Isenberg, Meara (July 16, 2021). "Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation to start filming in November" (en). *CNET*.
41. ↑ "ATLA Live-Action Netflix Show Reportedly Costs $15 Million Per Episode". *ScreenRant* (March 24, 2022).
42. ↑ "The live action ATLA series will be having an open casting call this year!". *Avatar News Airbender & Korra Netflix casting and release date*.
43. ↑ Webster, Andrew (2021-08-12). "Netflix reveals cast for its live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series" (en). *The Verge*.
44. ↑ "Everything We Know About Netflix's Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'", November 16, 2021.
45. ↑ "James Sie has been cast as the cabbage merchant in the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series!". *avatarnews.co* (July 26, 2022).
46. ↑ [1]
47. ↑ "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Season 1: Filming Wraps on Live-Action Series" (en-US). *Collider* (2022-06-28).
48. ↑ "Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Reportedly Starts Filming In November" (en-US). *ScreenRant* (2021-07-18).
49. ↑ "Production Weekly – Issue 1273 – Thursday, November 18, 2021 / 114 Listings – 26 Pages". *Production Weekly* (November 18, 2021).
50. ↑ "Stewart Whelan".
51. ↑ "Avatar: The Last Airbender". DNEG.
52. ↑ "Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Adds Another Name From Animated Series" (en-US). *CBR* (2018-09-21).
53. ↑ Zuckerman, Jeremy (July 21, 2021). "To those who are wondering, I will not be working on the Netflix live action ATLA adaptation. However, I'm beyond excited to further explore the Avatar universe with Mike, Bryan, and everyone else at Avatar Studios." (en). *Twitter*.
54. ↑ "Takeshi Furukawa Set To Compose Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ TV Series (EXCLUSIVE)" (2023-02-16).

## External links

* *Avatar: The Last Airbender* on Netflix
* *Avatar: The Last Airbender* on IMDb
* Nickipedia
* Avatar: The Last Airbender wiki
* Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:\_The\_Last\_Airbender\_(upcoming\_TV\_series)