Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender is regarded as one of the very best animated series of all-time. Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the show was more than just another series aimed at young audiences: it was full of deeply emotional storytelling, covering themes of war, oppression, grief, and moral ambiguity.
Because of its incredible world-building and multi-faceted story, Avatar was always a top contender for a live-action adaptation. And that's exactly what it got...but the results were mixed. For instance, legendary director M. Night Shyamalan attempted to adapt the series to the big screen with The Last Airbender in 2010, but the results were disastrous. The movie was awful; look no further than its 5% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
This brings us to Netflix's live-action remake, which aired its first season in 2024. Despite DiMartino and Konietzko dropping out of the project early on due to creative differences, the series was a significantly better attempt at bringing Avatar to live-action. It wasn't perfect, however, with viewers pointing out the much darker tone and a heavily condensed plot. Even so, the series was good enough for Netflix to renew it through to conclusion. Filming on season 2 is currently underway.
Love it or hate it, live-action Avatar is here to stay. In a recent interview with CBR, Zach Tyler Eisen — who voiced lead character Aang in the original animated show — weighed in on the live-action remake, saying he thinks it's "great."
"They have a very hard job in trying to remake this beloved cartoon from a lot of people's childhoods, and you're going to inevitably not satisfy everybody. But they were bold enough to take some risks with it, and I think it paid off."
Eisen is very excited to see how the writers develop the story in the show's final two seasons. "I am so excited for Seasons 2 and 3," he said. "I thought the acting was incredible. I really liked how they kept the story line, but took some liberties with it. They made it a little bit darker."
One of the main things Eisen can't wait to see is how actor Gordon Cormier visualizes Aang's most pivotal moments in live-action. "Talking to Gordon Cormier, especially, I'm looking at Aang in the face in a way that I never have before, and he's really talented. I can't wait to see what he does with the character."
Live-action remake aside, the Avatar: The Last Airbender animated universe will continue to grow and expand in the next few years. A brand new series called Avatar: Seven Havens will follow the Avatar who comes after Korra, who was the Avatar who came after Aang.
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