Avatar: The Last Airbender: Every confirmed change to Netflix's remake

6. Wan Shi Tong will appear

Wan Shi Tong is an ancient spirit who takes the form of an enormous owl. His main gig is collecting knowledge and housing it in his library that is buried in the middle of a desert in the Earth Kingdom. Over the years, Wan Shi Tong realized that most of his visitors didn't want to use his knowledge for academic purposes, but to gain advantages over other people. This made him sour towards humanity, and by the time we meet him in season 2 of the original show, he is uninterested in hosting the gang even though Aang, as the Avatar, serves as the bridge to the spirit world.

We know that Randall Duk Kim will play Wan Shi Tong in Netflix's remake, so he's showing up ahead of schedule. One way to work Wan Shi Tong into season 1 of the Netflix show is through Commander Zhao, a Fire Nation commander who's hunting the Avatar. In season 2, Wan Shi Tong recalls when Zhao visited his library to learn how to defeat waterbenders. This is where Zhao gets the idea to kill the moon spirit at the end of season 1, removing waterbending from the world. I would enjoy seeing a flashback where Zhao interacts with Wan Shi Tong and escapes the owl's aggressive attacks.

The only other way I can think to introduce Wan Shi Tong in season 1 is through Aang's various adventures into the spirit world. But it'd be kind of random for Wan Shi Tong to just be hanging out there so I prefer the idea with Zhao.