Avatar: The Last Airbender | |
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Genre | |
Based on | |
Developed by | Albert Kim |
Showrunner | Albert Kim |
Starring | |
Music by | Takeshi Furukawa |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Production location | Vancouver, British Columbia |
Cinematography |
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Editors |
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Running time | 47–63 minutes [2] |
Production companies |
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Budget | $120 million [3] (season 1) |
Original release | |
Network | Netflix |
Release | February 22, 2024 – present |
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American adventure fantasy television series developed by Albert Kim for Netflix. It is a live-action adaptation of the animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelodeon. The series stars an ensemble cast including Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Ian Ousley, Dallas Liu, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Ken Leung, and Daniel Dae Kim.
The series is set in a fictional world where human civilization is divided into four nations based on the four classical elements: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. In each nation, some people known as "benders" can telekinetically manipulate one of the four elements. The story follows the journey of twelve-year-old Aang, the last survivor of the Air Nomads and the next "Avatar" who can master all four elements. The series was first announced in September 2018, with DiMartino and Konietzko attached as both executive producers and showrunners. However, in June 2020, the pair departed the series over creative differences. In August 2021, Kim was officially announced as a writer, executive producer and showrunner.
The first season was released on Netflix on February 22, 2024, and garnered mixed reception from critics. In March 2024, the series was renewed for a second and third season.
The series is set in a war-torn world where certain people can "bend" one of the four classical elements —water, earth, fire or air. Aang, the "Avatar" and the last living Airbender, is the bridge between the mortal and spirit worlds, and the only one capable of bending all four of the elements instead of just one. The Avatar maintains the balance of the world and nature to bring peace, and Aang is now faced with the responsibility of ending the ambitions of the militaristic Fire Nation to conquer the world. With his new companions Katara and Sokka, Aang sets out to master the four elements while pursued by Zuko, the exiled crown prince of the Fire Nation, who seeks to regain his honor by capturing him. [4]
Additionally, Justin Wong, Emily Schoen, Shastina Kumar, Jon Ray Dy Buco, and Wilson Kwok portray a group of nomadic minstrels. [46]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
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1 | "Aang" | Michael Goi | Teleplay by : Albert Kim and Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko | February 22, 2024 |
2 | "Warriors" | Michael Goi | Joshua Hale Fialkov | February 22, 2024 |
3 | "Omashu" | Jabbar Raisani | Christine Boylan | February 22, 2024 |
4 | "Into the Dark" | Jabbar Raisani | Keely MacDonald | February 22, 2024 |
5 | "Spirited Away" | Roseanne Liang | Gabriel Llanas | February 22, 2024 |
6 | "Masks" | Roseanne Liang | Teleplay by : Emily Kim & Hunter Ries and Bryan Konietzko Story by : Ubah Mohamed and Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino | February 22, 2024 |
7 | "The North" | Jet Wilkinson | Audrey Wong Kennedy | February 22, 2024 |
8 | "Legends" | Jet Wilkinson | Albert Kim | February 22, 2024 |
In 2018, Netflix announced that a "reimagined" live-action remake of Avatar was to start production in 2019. [47] [48] The series' original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, were initially announced to be the executive producers and showrunners. [49] [50] In June 2020, the creators departed the series due to creative differences. This was revealed after DiMartino published an open letter on his own website on August 12, 2020. The pair cited differences in their approach to the show compared with Netflix's vision, also citing a "negative and unsupporting" environment during their time with the studio; [51] [52] [53] [54] the duo ultimately received writing credits for the first and sixth episodes. [55]
In August 2021, Albert Kim was officially announced as a writer, executive producer and showrunner; he commented in a blog post: "My first thought was, 'Why? What is there I could do or say with the story that wasn't done or said in the original?' But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became. We'll be able to see bending in a real and visceral way we've never seen before." [56] In the same post, Kim emphasized that "throughout this process, our byword has been 'authenticity'. To the story. To the characters. To the cultural influences. Authenticity is what keeps us going, both in front of the camera and behind it." Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore, Michael Goi, and Roseanne Liang were also announced as executive producers with Goi and Liang both directing episodes of the series. [57] [56] In the first season, each episode reportedly cost more than $15 million to make. [58]
On March 6, 2024, the series was renewed for a second and third season, with it set to conclude with the latter. [59] On April 4, 2024, it was announced that Kim would be stepping down as showrunner but would remain as an executive producer, while co-executive producer Christine Boylan and executive producer Jabbar Raisani would become showrunners for the second and third seasons. [60]
Prior to their departure, DiMartino and Konietzko had revealed that they are committed to "culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed casting" according to a statement from Konietzko. [61] Konietzko had said that he was hoping to include Dante Basco, the original voice actor who played Zuko. [62] In August 2021 following leaked casting reports, Netflix revealed the show's cast for the main four characters: Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Ian Ousley and Dallas Liu as Aang, Katara, Sokka and Zuko respectively. [56] Kim felt that "this was a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly exists, very similar to the one we live in." [63] In November 2021, Daniel Dae Kim, who previously voiced General Fong in the animated series and later Hiroshi Sato in The Legend of Korra , joined the cast of the series as Fire Lord Ozai. [8] Later that month, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Lim Kay Siu, and Ken Leung joined the cast of the series, playing Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao respectively. [7] In December, Elizabeth Yu, Yvonne Chapman, Tamlyn Tomita, Casey Camp-Horinek and Maria Zhang were added to the cast, respectively playing Azula, Avatar Kyoshi, Yukari (a new character added as Suki's mother in replacement of the mayor of Kyoshi Island), Gran Gran and Suki. [11]
In April 2022, Arden Cho and Momona Tamada joined the cast as June and Ty-Lee. [33] [18] Later that month, C. S. Lee was cast as Avatar Roku. [38] In June 2022, A Martinez and Amber Midthunder were cast as Master Pakku and Princess Yue respectively. [41] [20] In July 2022, it was revealed that James Sie would reprise his role as the Cabbage Merchant from the animated series. [30] In September 2022, more additional roles were announced, with two of them being George Takei as the voice of Koh the Face Stealer and Randall Duk Kim as the voice of Wan Shi Tong. Takei previously voiced the Fire Nation Prison Rig Warden in the animated series, while Duk Kim had a minor role in the 2010 live-action film The Last Airbender . [64]
Production and filming began in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 16, 2021. [65] [66] The series was filmed under the working titles Trade Winds and Blue Dawn. Principal photography wrapped on June 17, 2022. [67] [57] [68] [7] [69] Stewart Whelan served as a cinematographer. [70]
Visual effects for the series were handled by over twenty visual effects studios, including Framestore, DNEG, [1] Rodeo FX, Scanline VFX and Image Engine.
On February 16, 2023, it was confirmed that award-winning Japanese-American composer Takeshi Furukawa was attached to the project as its composer. [71]
Jeremy Zuckerman, who composed music for the original show, was originally set to return to compose the music for the remake [72] but later denied his involvement with the show after DiMartino and Konietzko left the project. [73]
The first look of the four main characters of the series—Aang, Katara, Sokka and Zuko—was released at Netflix's Tudum fan event in June 2023, along with a teaser featuring the four elements in the show. [74] This was followed by a first look at the characters from the Fire Nation in October 2023. [75] On November 9, 2023, Netflix released the first official teaser trailer for the series. [76] The official trailer for the series was released on January 23, 2024. [77]
The first season was released exclusively on Netflix on February 22, 2024, with eight episodes in total. [78] [79]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season 60% approval rating based on 75 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Avatar: The Last Airbender serves as a solid live-action entry point into the beloved franchise, although it only sporadically recaptures the magic of its source material." [80] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [81]
Jack Seale from The Guardian gave the series a positive review, saying "The landscapes sparkle, there is a giant six-legged flying bison that carries everyone spectacularly from place to place through the clouds and the young cast are up to the task." [82] Josh Yehl from IGN gave a generally positive review, saying "The live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series enriches the original story with meaningful new material, but its breakneck pacing, exposition-heavy dialogue, and hit-or-miss effects aren't precisely in balance." [83] James Marsh from the South China Morning Post gave an extremely positive review, "Hardened devotees of the source material will inevitably find minor cosmetic and composite changes to quibble about, but critics will be hard-pressed to argue against Kim and his crew's heart being in the right place." [84] Anita Singh from The Telegraph gave a mixed response: "It's solid entertainment: fast-moving, action-packed, with decent fight scenes and some appealing performances, all done on a generous Netflix budget. Don't expect subtlety – this is aimed at children so the characters and plot are broadly drawn." [85] Variety opined that, while it wasn't as bad as the 2010 film The Last Airbender , it "will leave fans wishing the streamer had left DiMartino and Konietzko's masterpiece alone." [86] Kelly Lawler from USA Today called the show "a corrupted facsimile of the original" and claimed "it's clear after two failed attempts to tell this story in live action that the greatness of Avatar was because of its animation, not in spite of it." [87]
Avatar: The Last Airbender topped the weekly global Netflix chart from February 19–25, with 154.4 million hours watched by 21.2 million viewers in its first week. [88] During its second week, the series remained atop but viewership decreased to 144.2 million hours watched by 19.9 million viewers and ranked among the top 10 in 92 countries and at number one in 76 countries. [89] It thus amassed 298.6 million hours watched by 41.1 million viewers in less than two weeks of its release. [90] Nielsen reported that on the "streaming charts for the week of February 19–25", Avatar: The Last Airbender was number one in the "originals" category and also number one overall "with 2.56B minutes viewed". [91]
Avatar: The Last Airbender, also known as Avatar: The Legend of Aang in some regions, is an American animated fantasy action television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio.
PrinceZuko, also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the character is voiced by Dante Basco in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Bruce Davison in The Legend of Korra, and portrayed by Dev Patel in M. Night Shyamalan's 2010 film The Last Airbender and Dallas Liu in the 2024 Netflix live-action remake series.
Katara is a fictional character in the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel series The Legend of Korra. The character, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, is voiced by Mae Whitman in the original series and Eva Marie Saint in the sequel series, The Legend of Korra. She is Chief Hakoda and Kya's daughter and Sokka's younger sister. In the 2010 live action film adaptation, she was played by Nicola Peltz, while in the live-action television series adaptation, she is portrayed by Kiawentiio.
Princess Azula is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and voiced by Grey DeLisle.
Avatar Aang, or simply Aang, is the titular protagonist of Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang was the last surviving Airbender, a monk of the Air Nomads' Southern Air Temple, and the youngest ever airbending master.
"The Chase" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the 28th episode overall. The show follows Aang, the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara, Sokka, and Toph Beifong ), and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko and princess Azula. The episode was written by Joshua Hamilton and directed by Giancarlo Volpe.
"Omashu" is the third episode of the Netflix adventure fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based off the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). The show follows Aang, the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko. The episode was written by Christine Boylan and directed by Jabbar Raisani.
"The Crossroads of Destiny" is the twentieth and final episode of the second season of the American animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the 40th episode overall. The show follows Aang, the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara, Sokka, and Toph Beifong, and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko and princess Azula. The episode was written by head writer Aaron Ehasz and directed by co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino.
"The Secret of the Fire Nation" is the twelfth and thirteenth episodes of the second season of the American animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, also titled "The Serpent's Pass" and "The Drill" respectively, and the 32nd and the 33rd episode overall. The show follows Aang, the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara, Sokka, and Toph Beifong, and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko and princess Azula. In other regions and on the Book Two DVDs, the two parter was collectively named "Journey to Ba Sing Se". "The Serpent's Pass" was written by Joshua Hamilton and Michael Dante DiMartino, and directed by Ethan Spaulding, while "The Drill" was written by DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and directed by Giancarlo Volpe.
Book Two: Earth is the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelodeon. The series starred Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Jessie Flower, Dante Basco, Dee Bradley Baker, Mako Iwamatsu and Grey DeLisle as the main character voices.
"Sozin's Comet" is the four-part series finale of the American animated Nickelodeon television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It was written by the creators alongside Aaron Ehasz, and directed by Ethan Spaulding, Giancarlo Volpe, and Joaquim Dos Santos. Although the finale is split into four episodes, it aired as a two-hour four-part film on July 19, 2008. The Saturday airing of "Sozin's Comet" acted as a climax to a week of ten new episodes that concluded Avatar's third season. Before the week of July 14–19, no episodes had been shown in the US since November 30, 2007, though some episodes had been released on DVD prior to their airdate. This is also considered a 92-minute television movie.
The Avatar: The Last Airbender comics are an official continuation of the original Nickelodeon animated television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The series includes The Lost Adventures, published from 2005 to 2011 and set between episodes of the original series, and the graphic novel trilogies, published since 2012 and set a few years after the original series. A related comic continuation, taking place seven decades later, The Legend of Korra, began publication in 2017.
"Aang" is the series premiere of the Netflix adventure fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based off the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). It was written by showrunner Albert Kim and original series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and directed by Michael Goi.
"Warriors" is the second episode of the Netflix adventure fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based off the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). The show follows Aang, the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko. The episode was written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and directed by Michael Goi.
"Into the Dark" is the fourth episode of the Netflix adventure fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based off the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). The show follows Aang, the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko. The episode was written by Keely MacDonald and directed by Jabbar Raisani.
"Spirited Away" is the fifth episode of the Netflix adventure fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based off the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). The show follows Aang, the last airbender and the "Avatar", on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko. The episode was written by Gabriel Llanas and directed by Roseanne Liang.
"Masks" is the sixth episode of the Netflix adventure fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based off the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). The show follows Aang, the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko. The episode was directed by Roseanne Liang and written by Emily Kim & Hunter Ries, and Bryan Konietzko from a story by Ubah Mohammed and Michael Dante DiMartino & Konietzko.
"The North" is the seventh episode of the Netflix adventure fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based on the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). The show follows Aang, the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko. The episode was directed by Jet Wilkinson and written by Audrey Wong Kennedy.
"Legends" is the eighth episode and season finale of the Netflix adventure fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based on the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). The show follows Aang, the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko. The episode was directed by Jet Wilkinson and written by showrunner Albert Kim.