"The past can be a great teacher..."
M. Night Shyamalan's 2010 The Last Airbender movie was universally panned by fans and critics, to the point that many wondered if we'd ever see another attempt to adapt the property in live-action form.
Netflix took up the challenge, and based on what we've seen up until now and in this full trailer, the streamer's upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender series seems to have done a much better job overall.
The eight-episode series is set to premiere globally on February 22, and follows Aang (Gordon Cormier) as he learns to master the four elements (Water, Earth, Fire, Air) to restore balance to a world threatened by the ruthless Fire Nation.
Per the official logline, “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.”
This promo gives us our best look yet at Aang and his pals in action, and also features our first look at several supporting characters, including King Bumi, June and Jet.
Check out the brand-new trailer below, along with the recent posters and some promo stills.
Avatar: The Last Airbender also stars Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka and Dallas Liu as Zuko. Additionally, Daniel Dae Kim stars as Fire Lord Ozai, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as General Iroh, Casey Camp-Horinek as Gran Gran, Arden Cho as June, Maria Zhang as Suki, Sebastien Amoruso as Jet, Utkarsh Ambudkar as King Bumi and Danny Pudi as The Mechanist.
Albert Kim serves as showrunner and executive producer. Michael Goi and Jabbar Raisani direct and executive produce with Rideback’s Dan Lin and Lindsey Liberatore. Co-executive producer Roseanne Liu and Jet Wilkinson also direct.
The Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series ran on Nickelodeon for three seasons from 2005 to 2008, and was followed by four seasons of The Legend of Korra starting in 2012. There was also the M. Night Shyamalan movie we don't talk about.
Back in 2021, we learned that Nickelodeon was set to launch Avatar Studios, a new division designed to create original content spanning animated series and movies based in the world of The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, with original creators and executive producers Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko on board as co-chief creative officers.
The first project out of the gate was said to be a new animated theatrical film, but updates have been few and far between since.