UPDATE: We’ve been contacted by the producers behind this project, who have informed us that it’s a fan film/proof of concept using the world of Avatar to showcase new VFX/production technology, and in no way actually affiliated with Netflix’s show. So…basically ignore everything below here.
In case you didn’t know, Netflix is making a live-action version of Nickelodeon’s much-beloved animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, with original series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino serving as showrunners. And to be clear, this has nothing to do with M. Night Shyamalan’s awful live-action movie adaptation. Hopefully, it’s something a lot more pleasing to fans.
It’s been nearly a year since we first caught wind Netflix was making its own The Last Airbender series. Since then, things have been pretty quiet. But now…
That’s an Instagram post from martial arts actor James Lew, who we can preeeeeety much assume has been hired by Netflix to work on The Last Airbender in some capacity. He posted a couple other pics from what look like a special effects test for the show:
These images dovetail with a Reddit post by u/bonanzarama, who claims to have worked on this special effects test. The key word here is “test”; these may not actually be the actors who will end up playing the characters. For now, they’re just playing some scenes in front of green screens so Netflix can get an idea of how the show will look. With all the bending and far-flung location, we can assume the show will involve a fair amount of special effects.
Anyway, u/bonanzarama shared another mess of photos. Here’s Firelord Ozai (Lew) on his throne:
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Ozai is a bad dude, the King of the Fire Nation, and the main antagonist of The Last Airbender.
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The Redditor said they helped shoot two test scenes: one with Ozai and another with Sokka (Kevin Garner) and Katara (Kate Buatti) of the Southern Water Tribe, key characters from the series. Again, we’re not sure if that’s who will play the characters in the final product, but that’s who was standing in on the day:
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Here’s a closeup shot of Buatti:
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Intriguingly, the Redditor describes Sokka and Katara’s scene playing out differently during the test than it does on the show. In the Nickelodeon original, Katara is aware that she’s a waterbender — someone who can bend water to her will, basically — from the start, although she’s not very skilled at first. In this sample scene, though, she discovers she has this power when she and her brother are being chased across the ice by “marauders.”
Again, it’s hard to know whether that’s something that will show up in the series proper or if it’s just something they’re doing for the test.
Regardless, it looks like Netflix is ramping up preproduction on the show. Our Redditor friend says the plan is to shoot the on-location stuff in Hawaii and Vancouver. Are you excited yet?
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h/t Geeks Worldwide