Avatar is having a while, and no, we're not talking about James Cameron's Avatar franchise with its myriad sequels stuck in development.
We are talking about Avatar: The Last Airbender, the popular Nickelodeon animated series that inspired the Kids Network to create an entire production studio for Avatar content, including TV shows and movies. Avatar is a beloved cartoon franchise, following the adventures of the eponymous ``Avatar'': being able to master all four elements (fire, water, wind, earth) in a world where most can' handle one or none. absolutely. The setting is clearly inspired by Buddhist mythology and Chinese martial arts - a point of contention at times given the American production studio and creative cues - and sees the Avatar trying to bring harmony between warring nations and various powerful beings. . Avatar Studios, as it is called, will be in charge of
original franchise creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and it seems that they have several projects in the works, although the details are limited so far. The first confirmed product is an animated feature, perhaps a reboot of sorts for the franchise, rather than another TV series, but the latter also seems inevitable at this point. The announcement came in February 2021, a good seven years after The Legend of Korra ended, long enough for many fans to have given up hope that the franchise would continue. But what exactly is going on, and which story beats a new Avatar series or movie?
Avatar Studios: What Has Been Announced
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Image credit: Paramount Plus) In a statement released by Nickelodeon, the creators of Avatar wrote: “It's hard to believe that 19 years have passed since we created Avatar: The Last Airbender. But even after all this time, there are still plenty of stories and moments in Aang's world that we can't wait to bring to life. "We are fortunate to have a growing community of passionate fans who enjoy exploring the Avatarverse as much as we do. And with this new venture from Avatar Studios, we have an unprecedented opportunity to grow our franchise and its storytelling on a large scale, in We are extremely Grateful to Brian Robbins and Ramsey Naito for their enthusiasm and respect for the Avatar property and to us as administrators, they have been supportive of our ambitious plans from the beginning and created a positive and proactive environment for us."We are excited to be back at Nickelodeon, where Avatar started, doing what we do best in the best possible way. We can't wait to create the great teams and productions to bring all this fantasy to life." (via ScreenRant)
New Avatar Movie: What We Know
We don't really know much about the animated movie already in the works at Avatar Studios. It could serve as something of a callback, revisiting Aang's history before embarking on different eras and story threads in the follow-up TV series. We could also see the movie act as a bridge between The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, or even a 'what happened next' featurette after that last series. As you can see, it's very speculative at this point, but we're expecting a mix of returning faces and new builds to capitalize on the Avatar fandom.
New Avatar Series - What to Expect
(Image credit: Paramount Plus) Avatar: The Last Airbender A new Avatar TV series would be exciting for many, set in the same world as the original Avatar TV show (which ran for three seasons) and its sequel, The Legend of Korra (four seasons). Though the original series is more cult-like, the latest boldly jumps forward decades in time, with far more modern technologies and cities compared to The Last Airbender's more feudal backdrop. So any new movie or TV show could be set in the same time frame as Aang, like Korra, or quite some time after. With many different Avatars mentioned in both series, since the Avatar is essentially reincarnated over and over again throughout the story, there are a few past iterations of the character where we could see a dedicated season as well. Maybe `` The First Airbender '' would make a nice ringtone?
Avatar Studios: who is involved?
(Image credit: Paramount Plus) The Legend of Korra The Last Airbender co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are known to lead the studio. It sounds perfect for continuity, though we expect the creative team for all future projects to include more diversity, especially East Asian writers, compared to previous seasons of the show. However, given the scope of Avatar Studios, DiMartino and Konietzko will serve as co-creative directors rather than creative directors. The studio will also act as a subset of Nickelodeon, meaning the availability of any upcoming TV shows or movies on other streaming platforms and services is uncertain. Any Avatar content is likely to end up on Paramount Plus, given that Nickelodeon is a subsidiary of Paramount, and that means anyone hoping to see the new Avatar series on Netflix might be disappointed. However, Netflix subscribers will soon have something in the world of Avatar to watch, but it won't be from Avatar Studios.
Avatar on Netflix: the new live action series
(Image credit: Paramount Plus) To further complicate matters, Netflix is already in the process of creating a live-action TV series based on The Last Airbender. There was an ill-fated, whitewashed, and universally terrified live-action film of The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, originally intended to be a film trilogy, but scrapped due to poor reviews and low profits for the former. movie. In 2018, however,
Netflix announced its own plans to turn The Last Airbender into a live-action TV series. The creators of the animated series were committed to the project, but they left behind some creative differences and reappeared with Avatar Studios shortly after, where it appears they will have more control over production on the franchise. The current status of the Netflix series is unclear, but it still appears to be moving forward, despite no planned release date yet. Netflix isn't in great shape for live-action adaptations of beloved animated series, either, with live-action versions of Bleach, Death Note, and the like coming off as awkward and unnecessary. You can watch all three seasons of The Last Airbender and all four seasons of The Legend of Korra on Netflix right now.