By: Meerab Chaudhry
Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony, with the Avatar keeping balance among all, but that all changed when the fire nation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. Some believe that the era of the Avatar has long passed, but others haven’t lost hope. Someday the Avatar will return to save the world. The return is almost finally upon us as Avatar the Last Airbender’s live-action premiere date closes in. Netflix revealed the live-action premiere date following the first teaser trailer earlier this month, scheduled to be released on February 22nd, 2024!
However, worry and doubt also surrounds this trip back to childhood classics, due to past failed attempts to reimagine this universe. Fans have already started comparing and contrasting the live-action to The Last Airbender movie. The last reimagine immensely disappointing hopes set to recreate the universe in real action. Controversy delved into the lack of diversity by casting white actors in roles inspired by Inuit and East Asian cultures, and the poor attention to detail of the setting and elements in the universe, including the limited script and special effects. Though more can be said about the critically acclaimed movie, producers of the new live-action have taken advice and criticism from previous indentures to improve on this project.
Already spiking hope, the new teaser involved glimpses of the special effects, cast, original references of plot and music to the show, and more! Netflix has already given the production team a diverse perspective on this project, making the improvements even more prominent. Now, let us dwell on what we’re seeing..
The first and foremost objective is the amazing casting, giving us more than we could have hoped for with one of the most accurate-looking cast. In comparison to the animations, these actors look as close to the cartoon as one can get, not to mention the diversity fans asked for and what was given, including indigenous, East Asian, Inuit, and more members of the cast. The film focuses on a “new benchmark in representation...a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people”, current Avatar showrunner Albert Kim states in a post on Netflix’s official blog. This representation is a chance to correctly embody the characters that the original creators of Avatar the Last Airbender created, even though they left the production in this project, hopes are still up in the clouds. Now let’s break and see exactly who’s starring as our beloved team avatar and our striking antagonists:
Avatar Aang
The lost Avatar, Aang is making a hard comeback played by Gordon Cormier. Starting off the resemblance is uncanny from the overall looks, nomadic outfit, small details, and the airbender tattoos! Aang, who is adventurous, light-hearted, comedic, fun-loving, and one of the strongest Airbenders who found out he was the Avatar at age 12 is the light of the show. Grappling the burdens given to him throughout the show and mastering the 4 elements to save the world from the tyranny of the fire nation is the embodiment of many life lessons and internal conflicts we face. His job being to save and restore the damage on the world from the fire nation after 100 years of being stuck in an iceberg is one hell of a burden for sure. But in the trailer, we see glimpses of his grief finding out he is the last air nomad, him accepting his responsibilities as the avatar, but also his kid self at heart, as well as seeing his air bending and avatar state on display. All very promising of what his character was like in the comics and show.
Katara
Now welcoming one of the women carrying this universe on their back, the one and only Katara. Played by Kiawentiio, who previously played Ka’kwet, a Mi’kmaq girl in Netflix’s Anne with an E. With an indigenous background that originally inspired the Southern water tribe and the creation of Katara, she and her brother, Sokka, accompanies Aang in mastering the elements and saving the world, while also freeing him from the iceberg. She suffered a great personal tragedy in connection to the antagonist and is the only waterbender in her tribe. Now in talks of her actor and character, I mean just wow.. In the trailer, we get to witness the hair loopies, indigenous attire, and catch a glimpse of her hopeful character in the trailer.
Sokka
The comedic relief of the characters, Sokka, who is portrayed by Ian Ousely in a very close resemblance to the attire, facial expressions, and actions in the teaser. Building on his skills and who he is, being a nonbender covers his doubts with deadpan humor and is one of the pillars of Team Avatar.
Prince Zuko
Introducing our favorite beginning antagonist, Prince Zuko, played by Dallas James Liu. He is a skilled fire bender and crown prince of fire nation, exiled from his home, hunting the avatar to reclaim his place in court and earn the respect of his cruel father. We see a mirror of his character in the first season in the trailer with a show of his fire bending and stubborn character along with Uncle Iroh (by Paul Sun- Hyung Lee), though his redemption arc and deeper plans for his change aren’t revealed.
Firelord Ozai
Fire lord Ozai, leader of the fire nation played by Daniel Dae Kim, is a power-hungry ruler with him and his forefathers reigning doom on the world for over 100 years. He is a powerful and promising antagonist depicted through his show of fire bending in his throne room and stone-faced look.
Princess Azula
Lastly, our striking villain and deranged sister of Prince Zuko and daughter of Lord Ozai is Azula, played by Elizabeth Yu. A relentless perfectionist and firebending prodigy is portrayed well by the character in the show. Her merciless character is shown briefly in the trailer set to show earlier than in the show.
Expectations for the Show
The world-building looks promising as well along with most elements of the show. It shows that the production team took time to incorporate little details into the setting, such as the ember island, Aang’s iceberg, Fire Nation island, Omashu, etc. Based on the trailer, you can see the intricate details of little houses and textures in the surroundings. Not to mention the bending looks exactly the same in real life as it would animated. Additionally, it would be impossible to forget the hair-by-hair detailing on Appa and Momo, which was satisfying to see. Overall, from all revealed to us, this presents a strong start to the anticipated series, which is scheduled for an 8-episode season in hopes of mirroring the 3 seasons of the original series.
Episodes are named The Last Airbender, Warriors, Into the Dark, Masks, and more. Already
rising with theories about the episodes, excitement is flourishing around this series and seems to be spiking as we savor all we’re given. Personally, the trailer hit high for my expectations as well. It was so great to hear a twist on the original soundtrack included by Samuel Kim, everything seamlessly blends. On the contrary, the discussion is that there is still room for failure and disappointment, similar to the movie with the script and pace of the series. There’s still so much to see and judge, and Avatar is in the spirit of what Katara once said: “You can’t knock me down!”
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