The cast of Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender, compared to their animated predecessors
By Dan Selcke
Suki
- Original voice actor: Jennie Kwan
- Live-action actor: Maria Zhang
Suzi is a member of the Kyoshi Warriors, an elite fighting force that Team Avatar encounters early on in their adventure. Suzi in particular becomes a long-running supporting character throughout the story, eventually starting up a romance with Sokka.
Maria Zhang plays Suki in the new show; that's Tamlyn Tomita in the picture above as Suki's mother Yukari.
suki is objectively one of the best avatar the last airbender characters, actually pic.twitter.com/SvB9CALAth
— jamie ☾ (@firelorddany) March 27, 2022
The most distinctive part of Suki's look is her Kyoshi Warrior makeup, which the live-action show has recreated in striking detail. I like the details they've added to her hairpiece.
Gran Gran
- Original voice actor: Melendy Britt
- Live-action actor: Casey Camp-Horinek
Gran Gran the grandmother of Katara and Sokka. As with Katara, the Netflix show has taken her outfit from the animated series and filled it out with new details; as I look at it now, it's clear that it's supposed to be water, for the Southern Water Tribe.
Man, they really are killing it with the hair; notice how in both animated and live-action form, Gran Gran has two stray strands of hair that fall over her face on either side. I don't expect Gran Gran to have a huge role in the Netflix show, but it's good to see that even in the case of minor characters like her, the new series is getting the details right.
The Mechanist
- Original voice actor: Rene Auberjonois
- Live-action actor: Danny Pudi
Speaking of minor characters the show is taking care to get right, take a look at the Mechanist, an inventor who helps Aang and company along their journey. In the live-action show, he'll be played by Danny Pudi, best known for playing Abed on Community.
It still blows my mind that ATLA has a character who is
— Charlie (@Chaxinitus) July 3, 2022
>The inventor of MANY vital technologies of the series
>Is in multiple episodes, including 2 in Day of Black Sun
>Is voiced by an acting legend
Just... never has a real name given
Just "The Mechanist" pic.twitter.com/8XfUfbBzj0
Once again, the Netflix show sticks very close to the animated original. Sure, the Mechanist's shirt is now a little more elabrorate, but it's got the same basic design as the original and he still wears an apron over it. The hair is on point, if slightly less exaggerated and cartoony on the new show, which makes sense since it's no longer a cartoon.
June
- Original voice actor: Jennifer Hale
- Live-action actor: Arden Cho
As you can probably tell by looking at her, June starts out the story as an antagonist. She's a bounty hunter on the hunt for Aang and the gang.
HOW DID I NOT KNOW @jhaletweets VOICED JUNE IN ATLA TIL NOW?! THE MOST BADASS HUNTRESS VOICED BY THE MOST BADASS VA?!
— TakenMom Dark Future Arc 💜💗💙 (@TowerM0m) June 23, 2022
I am such a bad fan. I'm so sorry Jen! 😭 pic.twitter.com/YH5DFbdinu
June's outfit is very 2000s-era goth, with a lot of straps and buckles and black-on-black fabrics. One of the things the new Last Airbender show is doing really well is converting these looks into live-action without having them look ridiculous. June's look is a good example; it's clearly identifiable as the same outfit from the animated show, but it's been pared down and finessed in ways so that it look like something a person would actually wear...
...or at least a person in this wild fantasy world, which is the best we can hope for. This outfit in particular also has "cosplay" written all over it.
Alright, let's hit one more group of characters and bring this thing home: