Avatar: The Last Airbender is over a decade finished by this point, but it’s recently gotten a big boost thanks to all three original seasons becoming available on Netflix. People are reminding themselves just how consistently good this East Asian-inspired animated fantasy show was, from start to finish.
And that’s good news for Netflix, because we’ve known for a while that they’re mounting a live-action remake, with original series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko on board to oversee it. We haven’t heard a ton of news — we can probably thank the coronavirus-mandated shutdown of Hollywood for some of that — but the new show is still coming, and it sounds like it might involve some of the original cast members.
Nothing’s certain, but Dante Basco — who voiced the popular Prince Zuko on the animated series — hinted that he could be part of whatever happens when talking to Screen Rant. He wouldn’t play Zuko, who’s around 16 years old during events of the show (Basco is in his 40s), but it would certainly be cool to get him involved.
“So I’m really excited to be a part of the Avatar family, and that’s coming back in live-action, and I’m looking forward to being a part of that and continuing to see what happens with the story,” Basco said.
"I don’t know specifically who I would want to see play Zuko. All of that is dependent upon how you cast the whole gang and how the world works out. I’m just excited that Mike [DiMartino] and Bryan [Konietzko] are at the helm of it all, and we’ve had some conversations. They know I’m here as part of the family to help out in any way, and we’ll see as it gets closer how the whole cast comes together. I’m excited as much as anybody else."
I know I’m getting way ahead of myself, but there are other roles Basco could play. He’s too young to play Iroh, Zuko’s cheery uncle who somehow manages to coach the angry young man through his issues without going insane, but he might be a good fit for Commander Zhao, a Fire Nation military man who chases the Avatar throughout the first season.
Or maybe he could just be there as a consultant. As far as I’m concerned, the more people from the original Last Airbender are involved, the better.
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