Netflix dropped a lot of tasty morsels today at its TUDUM event, including the first teaser trailer for its upcoming live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the beloved animated Nickelodeon show about a young boy named Aang who must save a fantasy world from tearing itself apart with war. The teaser only features some images illustrating the four elements — earth, air, fire and water — but it may be enough to pique the interest of fans:
Netflix also released some official images showing off some of the main characters, including Gordon Cormier as Aang, Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko, an Ousley as Sokka and Kiawentiio as Katara:
Avatar: The Last Airbender. Gordon Cormier as Aang in episode 101 of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Cr. Robert Falconer/Netflix © 2023
Avatar: The Last Airbender. Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko in episode 101 of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Cr. Robert Falconer/Netflix © 2023
Avatar: The Last Airbender. Ian Ousley as Sokka in episode 101 of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Cr. Robert Falconer/Netflix © 2023
Avatar: The Last Airbender. Kiawentiio as Katara in episode 101 of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Cr. Robert Falconer/Netflix © 2023
Elsewhere, we also got a small look at actor C. S. Lee as Roku, who was the Avatar — the one person in the world who can control all four elements — before Aang:
The Last Airbender release date on Netflix
I’m a pretty big fan of the original Last Airbender show, and so far, these photos are looking very…literal. I mean, they look nice — it looks like Netflix has spared no expense — but mostly what I take from this is that they’re going for a one-to-one translation from the show. I mean, that is exactly Aang’s outfit from the animated series, although the bright primary colors look a little more cartoony than they did in the cartoon, if you understand me.
The Last Airbender has a rough history with animated remakes; M. Night Shyamalan made a movie version in 2010. It’s widely regarded as absolutely terrible, so I understand if fans are nervous going into this new one. We’ll see how it goes.
The Netflix remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender will drop the word “Avatar” from its name. It’ll simply be called The Last Airbender and will air on Netflix sometime in 2024.
Trailer and release date for Netflix’s live-action remake of One Piece
Speaking of popular animated series which Netflix is sparing no expense to remake in live-action, we also got a trailer for One Piece, which began life as a phenomenally successful manga by Eiichiro Oda before becoming a phenomenally successful anime series.
I know way less about One Piece than I do about The Last Airbender. As I understand it, it’s about a group of pirates led by a plucky upstart with the unlikely name of Monkey D. Luffy. They all have wacky powers and sail around the world together. Here’s the trailer, which seems to bear out my assumptions:
Monkey stretch! One Piece premieres on Netflix on August 31.
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