Avatar: The Last Airbender, a Nickelodeon show about a young boy named Aang who masters all four elements and fulfills his destiny to save the world, ended way back in 2008, but recently, Hollywood had become convinced that fans want more, more, MORE! Not only are original series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko working on a series of new animated movies and TV shows, but Netflix is making a live-action version of the original series.
And none of this, we remind you, has anything to do with the blue aliens from James Cameron’s Avatar movies. Avatar everywhere!
The first of those animated movies is scheduled to come out in October of 2025. We’ve heard far less about the live-action remake, even though that was announced first and is presumably further along. But every once in a while we get a sneak peek, as when star Yvonne Chapman talked to Cliché Magazine.
Avatar Kyoshi will give Aang “tough love” in The Last Airbender remake
Chapman plays Avatar Kyoshi, a woman who mastered all four elements long before Aang came on the scene; in the world The Last Airbender, the Avatar is born anew when an old one dies, so in a way, Aang and Kyoshi are the same person, just a couple of lifetimes apart.
At the same time, they’re their own people, and because Avatars can speak to their past selves, Aang can communicate with her. According to Chapman, Kyoshi will provide “a source of tough love for Aang.”
"She sometimes has a different perspective from the other Avatars. She’s a very fierce person, and she is going to be able to guide Aang in what needs to be done in his circumstances. Kyoshi is going to be able to give Aang the advice that he needs to hear at the time that he needs to hear it."
Kyoshi is indeed known as one of the more assertive Avatars in history. She was a fan favorite in the original animated series, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with her in the live-action remake.
Avatar: The Last Airbender remake respects that the audience “has grown up with the show”
There’s been some trepidation among fans about the remake, especially since original since DiMartino and Konietzko were originally going to work on it but left over creative differences. If the Netflix series was going in a direction that the original creators didn’t like, should we be worried?
According to Chapman, no. “The showrunners and creators have such a passion for the story,” she said. “They were all fans of it growing up, so there is a great deal of respect for the source material, and they’ve kept in mind the audience that is going to be watching has grown up with the show. I think it’s going to be really great, and I can’t wait to see it.”
We still don’t know when The Last Airbender remake will premiere, but we’re crossing our fingers for this year.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels