After months of speculation and fan theories swirling online, the mystery has finally been solved. We finally know who Steven Yeun is playing in the highly anticipated The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender movie, and it’s a reveal that’s taking fans by surprise.
Back in March 2025, Paramount Pictures announced that Yeun would be part of the cast for the new animated film. However, at that time, they did not reveal which character he would be portraying. So while fans knew Yeun was involved, his specific role remained a mystery.
Many fans speculated that Yeun would reprise his role as Avatar Wan in the upcoming movie. He had voiced the same character in The Legend of Korra. But instead, this new announcement reveals that he’s playing a much different character. One that fans of the original animated series know and love.
Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who originally created the fan favorite animated show Avatar: The Last Airbender, shared an important casting announcement about the new movie The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender during an interview with the entertainment website IGN at the big fan event San Diego Comic-Con 2025.
They revealed that Yeun will be voicing Zuko, the conflicted Crown Prince of the Fire Nation whose complex journey from enemy to hero has earned him a special place as one of the franchise’s most cherished characters. In the original animated series, the character was voiced by Dante Basco.
IGN then asked DiMartino and Konietzko whether Yeun would also be reprising his previous role as Avatar Wan in the movie. However, they chose not to confirm or deny this, keeping that detail under wraps for now. Of course, this deliberate ambiguity has only fueled speculation among fans.
The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender serves as a fresh continuation of Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's an animated fantasy film that revisits the beloved world of bending elements, following the original Avatar and his friends as they face new challenges and threats many years after the events of the original series. In April 2024, many actors were cast in the film. Eric Nam was cast as Aang, Dionne Quan as Toph, Jessica Matten as Katara, Román Zaragoza as Sokka, and Dave Bautista as an unnamed villain.
A theatrical release has already been confirmed. The animated feature is set to hit U.S. theaters on Oct. 9, 2026, and is the first of three planned films in the Avatar animated universe.
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