Thanks to Netflix's Geekend Week 2023, we have a brand new look at the streamer's highly-anticipated upcoming live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Front and center, riding atop Appa is Gordon Cormier's Avatar Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara and Ian Ousley as Sokka. Cormier is of French and Filipino descent while Kiawentiio hails from Mohawk Indian ancestry. Ousely hails from the Cherokee Nation.
A full-length trailer is set to be released later this week.
Fans of the wildly popular 2005 Nickelodeon series are cautiously optimistic about the series after the disastrous 2010 live-action film from director M. Night Shyamalan. However, because of its faithful adaptation of One Piece, Netflix has recently gained some favor with fans.
Because it dared to explore so many significant issues, such as friendship, war, peace, and self-discovery, the animated series garnered a ton of acclaim. The show urged its young audience to consider these topics carefully and to have an open mind when it comes to change and self-improvement.
The adaptation of the beloved Nickelodeon cartoon is confirmed to premiere in 2024. Albert Kim (Nikita, Leverage) is serving as showrunner.
In addition to Cormier, Ousley and Kiawentiio, the series also stars Dallas Liu (PEN15) as Prince Zuko, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim's Convenience, The Mandalorian) as Uncle Iroh, Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-0, Lost) as Fire Lord Ozai, Ken Leung (Inhumans, The Blacklist) as Commander Zhao, and Elizabeth Yu (Somewhere in Queens)as Princess Azula.
The official synopsis from Netflix reads, "Water, Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony - then everything changed. A live-action adaptation Aang's story.
The four nations once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping peace between them. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and wiped out the Air Nomads, the first step taken by the firebenders towards conquering the world. With the current incarnation of the Avatar yet to emerge, the world has lost hope.
But like a light in the darkness, hope springs forth when Aang, a young Air Nomad — and the last of his kind — reawakens to take his rightful place as the next Avatar. Alongside his newfound friends Sokka and Katara, siblings and members of the Southern Water Tribe, Aang embarks on a fantastical, action-packed quest to save the world and fight back against the fearsome onslaught of Fire Lord Ozai. But with a driven Crown Prince Zuko determined to capture them, it won’t be an easy task. They’ll need the help of the many allies and colorful characters they meet along the way."