Today, Paramount recognizes the value of the Avatar world, but that wasn’t always the case. They leased out streaming rights to the original cartoon to Netflix, thinking interest would be low, but when the show consistently stayed in the Top 10 for over a month, Paramount realized they might’ve made an ignorant mistake. Of course, by that point, they had also agreed to let Netflix make a live-action show based on the cartoon. It sucks to be slow.
Netflix may never get this kind of opportunity again, which is why they’re going all in on it. The first full trailer for their version of Avatar: The Last Airbender premiered yesterday and it looks pretty fancy. We get to see the Gaang, Momo and Appa, Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation army, and even what appears to be Suki (doesn’t Sokka have to meet and fall for Yue first? She’s not even the moon yet).
While the show LOOKS nice, its true quality is still a question mark. Fans still hold the bitter taste in their mouths from the last time someone tried to make a live-action version of the A:TLA world. Granted, 2011 was quite a while ago, but M. Night Shaymalan’s take was despised by everyone. Add to this the fact that Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, creators of all things Avatar that have nothing to do with blue aliens, were originally attached to the Netflix series but left, saying the show didn’t match the “spirit and integrity of Avatar.”
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender stars Gordon Cormier (The Stand) as Aang, Kiawentiio (Anne with an E) as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu (Pen15) as Zuko, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka) as Uncle Iroh, Elizabeth Yu (Somewhere in Queens) as Princess Azula, Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) as Fire Lord Ozai, and Ken Leung (Old) as Commander Zhao. Whatever we’re getting, we’ll get it February 22.
