Avatar Studios

Last updated

Avatar Studios
Company type Division
Industry
  • Film
  • Television
FoundedFebruary 2021;3 years ago (February 2021)
Founders Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino
Headquarters Burbank, California, U.S.
Key people
Brands Avatar: The Last Airbender
Parent Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Website www.avatarstudiosofficial.com

Avatar Studios is an American production company and a division of Nickelodeon Animation Studio formed in February 2021 to oversee the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise. Franchise co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko serve as co-chief creative officers.

Contents

Background

Avatar: The Last Airbender , an animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, aired on the cable channel Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. During its run, it would achieve high ratings as well as garner critical acclaim and several awards. [1] [2] It was succeeded by a sequel series, The Legend of Korra , which ran from 2012 to 2014. [1] The property would grow into a multi-media franchise consisting of an ongoing comics series, a prequel novel series, video games, and a live-action film. [3] [4] [5] [6]

History

In 2018, Netflix announced that a live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender was to start production in 2019. [7] [8] The series' original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, were initially announced to be the executive producers and showrunners. [9] [10] In June 2020, the creators departed the series due to creative differences. [11] That same year, Nickelodeon licensed the original The Last Airbender as well as The Legend of Korra to Netflix, which led to a boom in popularity for both series. This success convinced Nickelodeon to rekindle their relationship with Konietzko and DiMartino and explore further opportunities. [12] [13]

In February 2021, ViacomCBS announced during its annual Investor Day, the formation of Avatar Studios, a new division of Nickelodeon centered on developing animated series and films set in the universe of the franchise, to be distributed via Nickelodeon's linear and digital services, Paramount+, theatres, and other third-party platforms. [1] [3] The division is helmed by DiMartino and Konietzko, who are its co-chief creative officers and report to Nickelodeon Animation Studio president Ramsey Ann Naito. [1] [3] It was also announced that the studio's first project would be an animated theatrical film that was initially planned to begin production in 2021. [1] [3]

Projects

The division's first production, an animated film titled Aang: The Last Airbender is set to be released in theaters on January 30, 2026 by Paramount Pictures. [1] [14] It will serve as a continuation of the original series. [15] [16] In June 2022, it was reported that two additional theatrical animated films were also in the works. [17]

Filmography

FilmRelease DateDirector(s)Screenwriter(s)Story byProducersComposer(s)Animation servicesProduction statusRef.
Aang: The Last Airbender January 30, 2026 Lauren Montgomery
Co-directed by:
William Mata		TBATBALatifa Ouaou & Maryann GargerTBA Flying Bark Productions In production [18] [19] [20]

Related Research Articles

<i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> American animated television series

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuko</span> Fictional character from Avatar: The Last Airbender

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 (<i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i>) Character in Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aang</span> Fictional character from Avatar: The Last Airbender

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toph Beifong</span> Fictional character in Avatar: The Last Airbender

Toph Beifong is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, voiced by Michaela Jill Murphy in the original series and Kate Higgins as an adult and Philece Sampler as an elder in the sequel series. She will be portrayed by Miya Cech in Season 2 of the live-action television series adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Dante DiMartino</span> American animation director

Michael Dante DiMartino is an American animator, producer, writer, and director. He is best known, together with Bryan Konietzko, as the co-creator of the animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, both on Nickelodeon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Konietzko</span> American animation director

Bryan Konietzko is an American animator, writer, producer and director. He is best known, together with Michael Dante DiMartino, as the co-creator and executive producer of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.

<i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> season 1 Animated television series episode list

Book One: Water is the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. The first season aired on Nickelodeon from February 21 to December 2, 2005, and consisted of 20 episodes. The series stars Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Dante Basco, Dee Bradley Baker, Mako Iwamatsu and Jason Isaacs as the main character voices.

<i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> season 2 Second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender animation series

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.

<i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> season 3 Third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender episode list

Book Three: Fire is the third and final season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The series stars Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Michaela Jill Murphy, Dante Basco, Dee Bradley Baker, Greg Baldwin, Grey DeLisle, and Mark Hamill as the main character voices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sozin's Comet</span> Series finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender

"Sozin's Comet" is the four-part series finale of the American animated fantasy action 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.

<i>The Legend of Korra</i> American animated television series

The Legend of Korra, also known as Avatar: The Legend of Korra, or more rarely simply as Korra, is an American animated fantasy action television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelodeon. As a stand-alone sequel to their previous series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, which ran for three seasons from February 21, 2005, to July 19, 2008, Legend of Korra ran for 52 episodes ("chapters"), separated into four seasons ("books"), from April 14, 2012, to December 19, 2014. It has been continued as a comic book series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korra</span> Title character of The Legend of Korra

Avatar Korra, commonly simply known as Korra, is the title lead character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, in which she is depicted as the current incarnation of Raava's Avatar—the spiritual embodiment of balance and change—responsible for maintaining peace and harmony in the world. She is the immediate reincarnation of Avatar Aang. The character was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and was voiced by Janet Varney, and by Cora Baker as a child.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokka</span> Character in Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra

Sokka is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's 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 Jack DeSena in the original series and by Chris Hardwick in the sequel series. He is a warrior of the Water Tribe and the son of Chief Hakoda and Kya. In the live-action film adaptation, he is portrayed by Jackson Rathbone, while in the live-action television series adaptation, he is portrayed by Ian Ousley.

Tenzin (<i>The Legend of Korra</i>) Fictional character in The Legend of Korra

Tenzin is a major character in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, were created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. He is voiced by J. K. Simmons. Tenzin's father, Aang, was the Avatar who preceded Korra and kept world peace by preventing the Fire Nation from taking over the world during the Hundred Year War, which occurred about seventy years before the beginning of The Legend of Korra. Tenzin's mother, Katara, greatly assisted Aang in his efforts to save the Earth Kingdom from destruction. Tenzin is the youngest of the three children of Aang and Katara.

<i>The Legend of Korra</i> season 1 First season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra

Book One: Air is the first season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Consisting of twelve episodes, it was initially intended to be a stand-alone epilogue miniseries sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender before the series was expanded to an order of four seasons ("books") of fifty-two episodes ("chapters") in total. Book One: Air aired from April 14 to June 23, 2012, on the Nickelodeon channel in the U.S., and is broadcast in other countries beginning in June 2012.

<i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> (franchise) Multimedia franchise

Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American multimedia franchise created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The franchise began with the Avatar: The Last Airbender, which aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series is set in an Asian-inspired fantasy world in which some people can telekinetically manipulate one of the four classical elements: air, water, earth, or fire. Only the titular "Avatar" can bend all four elements and is responsible for maintaining balance in the world.

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.

Endgame (<i>The Legend of Korra</i>) 12th episode of the 1st season of The Legend of Korra

"Endgame" is the twelfth and final episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Legend of Korra, a spin-off/stand-alone sequel to The Legend of Aang. Production occurred under the code 1123 and the episode was directed by Joaquim Dos Santos and Ki Hyun Ryu and written by the Avatar franchise creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. "Endgame" originally aired on Nickelodeon on June 23, 2012, and was animated by Studio Mir.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (February 24, 2021). "Nickelodeon Launches Avatar Studios, Will Expand World of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender,' 'The Legend of Korra'". Variety . Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  2. ↑ Moody, Annemarie (July 23, 2008). "Avatar: The Last Airbender Hits All-Time Series High". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 White, Peter (February 24, 2021). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Franchise To Expand With Launch Of Nickelodeon's Avatar Studios, Animated Theatrical Film In The Works". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  4. ↑ Jones, Justin (August 30, 2018). "Last Airbender Universe Expands With Avatar Kyoshi Novels". Comic Book Resources . Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  5. ↑ Turner, Kayla (November 28, 2023). "All 13 Avatar The Last Airbender Books In Chronological Order". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  6. ↑ Lewis, Ewan (September 16, 2023). "Best Avatar: The Last Airbender Games, Ranked". Game Rant . Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  7. ↑ Romano, Nick (September 18, 2018). "The 'Avatar' lives again! Live-action 'Last Airbender' series coming to Netflix". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  8. ↑ Fingas, Jon (September 18, 2018). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' returns as a live-action Netflix series". Engadget. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  9. ↑ Porter, Rick (September 18, 2018). "Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Series Coming to Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  10. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (September 18, 2018). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Live-Action Series In Works At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  11. ↑ Otterson, Joe (August 12, 2020). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Creators Exit Netflix Live-Action Adaptation". Variety . Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  12. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (July 12, 2021). "'Fairly OddParents' Live-Action Series, 'Blue's Clues' Movie Highlight Nickelodeon's Global Push (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  13. ↑ Sharf, Zack (July 12, 2021). "Netflix's 'Avatar' Boom Convinced Nickelodeon to Reunite with Creators and Expand Franchise". IndieWire . Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  14. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (April 18, 2024). "'Aang: The Last Airbender' Delayed to 2026, 'Transformers One' Moves Back a Week". Variety . Archived from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  15. ↑ Valentine, Rebekah (July 22, 2022). "Avatar Studios' First Movie Will Focus on Aang". IGN . Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  16. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie; Andreeva, Nellie (July 23, 2022). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender': Subject Of First Animated Movie Revealed – Comic-Con". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  17. ↑ Galuppo, Mia (June 15, 2022). "Three 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Films Set at Paramount, Nickelodeon". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  18. ↑ Graves, Sabina (April 11, 2024). "Aang: The Last Airbender Movie Has Found Its Cast, Including Dave Bautista". Gizmodo . Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  19. ↑ Sharf, Zack (April 11, 2024). "Dave Bautista and Eric Nam to Headline Voice Cast for 'Aang: The Last Airbender' Animated Movie at Paramount, Nickelodeon". Variety . Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  20. ↑ Slatter, Sean (October 13, 2022). "Flying Bark recruiting artists to work on Paramount/Nickelodeon's 2D 'Avatar' film". IF Magazine . Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
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