All eight episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender are now streaming on Netflix. Is the show good? No. Is it a bittersweet reminder of all the amazing characters and lore that the original animated series gave us? Yes! In particular, the original Airbender provided origin stories for previous avatars, like Avatar Roku. You’re no doubt here, reading this article, because you’re curious about who plays him in the remake. I respect that!
Avatar: The Last Airbender (both the original and the remake) follow 12-year-old Aang, who finds out that he’s the only person on Earth who can manipulate all four elements. In other words, he’s the Avatar, destined to maintain peace and harmony in the world. But when the Fire Nation wages war against the other civilizations, Aang learns that he has to step into his responsibilities instead of running from them.
In the opening of the new series, we see a sequence in which previous Avatars join each other on a large staircase. These avatars include Avatar Kyoshi, Avatar Kuruk, and Avatar Roku. Here’s everything you need to know!
Who is Avatar Roku?
Avatar Roku is the last Avatar before Aang. Roku’s soul is reincarnated into Aang’s body, but because Aang is frozen in ice for a hundred years after fleeing his home, the world spends over a century with no active Avatar.
As a member of the Fire Nation, Roku is a close friend of Fire Lord Sozin, who begins the Fire Nation’s conquest of the rest of the world. In the cold open of the Netflix remake, we see Sozin and his soldiers attacking a member of the Earth Kingdom. In the animated series, Roku tries to stop Sozin from trying to conquer the world, and appears as a spirit to advise Aang.
Who is C.S. Lee?
In the Netflix remake of The Last Airbender, Roku is played by C.S. Lee. Lee is best known for his portrayal of Vince Masuka in Dexter, and Lee Jung-Gil in For All Mankind. He also played Dr. Ba in The Sopranos, and Jin Park in the Quantum Leap episode “One Night in Koreatown.”
There you have it! The Last Airbender may not be a great remake, but at least it’s got some great talent.
(featured image: Netflix)
