Avatar: The Last Airbender may have premiered seventeen years ago, but the charming story still feels fresh and delightful. So, it made sense that Netflix wanted to capture Avatar‘s ever-enduring fans with a new live-action reboot. Although the synopsis of each episode is not yet public, it would only be beneficial for Netflix to stick closely to the original show. I mean, you can’t improve upon perfection.
I watched the series for the first time in 2020 and fell in love. A lot of great family-friendly animated shows exist, but Avatar may be the best. The fantastical world of elemental bending (element manipulation) brought viewers to a war-torn land of four kingdoms: Earth, Fire, Water, and Air.
Aang, the Last Airbender, awakened from a 100-year hibernation in an iceberg, only to find things worse than when he left. Instead of living in harmony, the Fire Nation dominated the other kingdoms—going as far as eliminating all the airbenders. As the Avatar, he is the only one who can save the world. Yet, Aang is only 12 years old and not ready for such a task.
First, he meets waterbender Katara and her brother, Sokka. Flying on Appa the air bison, Aang thinks his journey will be straightforward. Until they find the prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko, searching for Aang. Although characters may appear strictly good or bad, the layers and nuances quickly reveal that anyone is capable of being either. Life paths are determined by the choices they make.
The Episode Details We Know (So Far)
Netflix promised fans not to white-wash the actors they cast, as the failed feature film by M. Night Shyamalan did. So far, Netflix kept that promise. Recently, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (playing fan-favorite firebender Uncle Iroh) revealed on the Handsome Genius Club Radio Show podcast that season one will have eight episodes. Each episode has a run time of 60-minutes. Fans of the original show may notice that is the same time as the animated show’s first season, Book One: Water. Which makes it even more probable that they will keep a similar story as the original.
Unfortunately, no officially released footage exists at this time. Not even a teaser trailer. With filming set to wrap this May, fans are hopeful to see the show premiere later this year or early next year. Until then, the original, flawless animated version is available to stream on Netflix.
My favorite character (earthbending legend Toph) doesn’t appear until season two of the original. I hope the show is great, so great that a second season will follow soon. Which character do you hope to see in the reboot?
(feature image: Netflix)
