In what is likely one of the most disappointing news today — in the world of entertainment, at least — we have found out that Avatar: The Last Airbender's live-action adaptation has lost series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko due to creative differences with Netflix.
"I can finally tell you that I am no longer involved with the project. In June of this year, after two years of development work, Bryan Konietzko and I made the difficult decision to leave the production," DiMartino explained in an open letter, posted on his personal website, in response to fans asking him about the state of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series.
"Productions are challenging. Unforeseen events arise. Plans have to change. And when those things have happened at other points during my career, I try to be like an Air Nomad and adapt. I do my best to go with the flow, no matter what obstacle is put in my way. But even an Air Nomad knows when it’s time to cut their losses and move on," DiMartino's letter continues.
This is certainly some disappointing news for fans of the critically acclaimed Avatar: The Last Airbender series, but DiMartino is still optimistic about the live-action adaptation of the show he created, although he does mention that the idea that him and Bryan Konietzko originlly had for this Netflix series will not be fully realised now that they've exited the project.
"And who knows? Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar has the potential to be good. It might turn out to be a show many of you end up enjoying. But what I can be certain about is that whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make," DiMartino explains.
"We have complete respect and admiration for Michael and Bryan and the story that they created in the Avatar animated series. Although they have chosen to depart the live action project, we are confident in the creative team and their adaptation," reads an official statement by a Netflix spokesperson.
At the expense of sounding like a broken record, this is definitely some disappointing news for fans of the series, but the good news is that nothing will take away the fact that the original Nickelodeon show already exists for everybody to watch at their leisure; on Netflix, even.
Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action adaptation was originally announced in September of 2018 and we've had barely any news about the project until today, which was already beginning to be somewhat concerning.
Let's just hope that whatever product Netflix puts out ends up being a top quality product like the original series; all they have to do is closely follow the story that's already been gracefully told by DiMartino and Konietzko.