Avatar: The Last Airbender has been one of the most beloved animated shows on the planet since it first aired in 2005, and its legion of fans seems to only get bigger as the years pass. As a result, a live-action adaptation has always felt imminent…well, we did actually get one from M. Night Shyamalan in 2010, but that’s better left forgotten.
Even though that movie version didn’t work out, Netflix is returning to the well for a live-action TV series, and the casting choices are is enough to renew hope. So far we’ve got Gordon Cormier (Aang), Kiawentiio Tarbell (Katara), Ian Ousley (Sokka), Dallas Liu (Zuko) and Daniel Dae Kim (Fire Lord Ozai).
Now, according to Variety, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim’s Convenience, The Mandalorian) has been cast in the role of Iroh, Zuko’s supportive uncle and one of the most adored characters in the series. Sun-Hyung Lee looks like the perfect Iroh, following in the footsteps of previous voice actors Greg Baldwin and Mako. He’s definitely the type of guy I’d like to drink tea with, so the casting is probably spot on.
Plus, as a random coincidence, Sun-Hyung Lee’s character in Kim’s Convenience was named Appa, which is the name of Aang’s flying bison in Avatar. Will Appa meet Appa?
Avatar: The Last Airbender remake casts Monk Gyatso and Commander Zhao
Netflix also announced two more cast members. First we have Lim Kay Siu as Monk Gyatso, Aang’s father figure and mentor within the Air Nomads. And then there’s Ken Leung (The Night Shift, Inhumans) as the ruthless leader of the Fire Nation Navy, Commander Zhao.
The cast of Netflix's AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER continues to grow.
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) November 16, 2021
Meet the actors who will play Uncle Iroh, Gyatso and Commander Zhao. pic.twitter.com/w2vZhDeRPF
Netflix’s attempt to bring the Avatar story to live-action hasn’t been without its controversies. For instance, early in development, original series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko departed the project due to creative differences. Since then, fans have been voicing their concerns. Clearly, there’s a lot that can go wrong in making a live-action Avatar, but the casting is shaping up nicely.
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender has started filming!
This comes from Avatar News, a fansite that keeps track of all things happening in the Avatar franchise. The show will film in a fancy custom-built facility with a 23,000-square-foot virtual production volume — this is the same technology utilized in The Mandalorian, so we know it will be glorious.
Filming is poised to last for six months, concluding in May 2022. We still don’t know exactly when the show will be released, but sometime in late 2022 or early 2023 sounds like a safe bet.
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