So, Netflix has just ordered a new live-action series based on the highly acclaimed/award-winning Nickelodeon animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and they are bringing in the original creators, Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino, to helm the new adaptation. It will go into production in 2019, with Netflix partnering with Nickelodeon. The show was previously adapted into live-action with the infamously bad 2010 M. Night Shyamalan film, The Last Airbender. Here’s what the creators had to say about their return:
“We’re thrilled for the opportunity to helm this live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We can’t wait to realize Aang’s world as cinematically as we always imagined it to be, and with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build upon everyone’s great work on the original animated series and go even deeper into the characters, story, action, and world-building. Netflix is wholly dedicated to manifesting our vision for this retelling, and we’re incredibly grateful to be partnering with them.”
And here’s the quote from Melissa Cobb, VP Kids & Family Content on Netflix:
“We are committed to honoring Bryan and Mike’s vision for this retelling and are thrilled to support them on creating a live-action event series, bringing Aang’s epic world of elemental magic to life for global audiences on Netflix,”
So, a few good things here. It looks like Netflix is committed to whatever Konietzko and DiMartino want to do in bringing their vision to life, and them going out of their way to make sure they cast appropriately is a smart move.
Unfortunately, that’s about all the enthusiasm I can muster up.
For the record, The Last Airbender is one of my all-time favorite shows. I love it to pieces, I’ve read the comics, I also loved The Legend of Korra, and I would go as far as to say that the show has the best worldbuilding I’ve seen in any media within the past couple decades. It’s so fully realized, with wonderful, informative details on the people, the cultures, and how bending becomes a part of it, as well as how they both evolve over time.
With that said, I find it incredibly disappointing that four years after Korra ended, instead of bringing a whole new story set in this world with new characters, new locales, new abilities, we’re just going back to the same story we’ve already seen. A story that, I should say, is perfectly executed at its current state. The Last Airbender doesn’t have a single misstep during its three season run, and when it did (with the episode, The Great Divide, which wasn’t even that bad), the show brought it around and referenced it for a clever gag. You can’t do that twice. Even if this show ends up being pretty good, it will never capture that same lightning-in-a-bottle that the original show did.
The world of The Last Airbender has more than enough material to spin many shows with varying tones and styles, and it seems to odd to just do the original show again just to satisfy some weird impulse to right the wrongs of Shyamalan’s film. It’s been almost a decade, fans apparently still can’t move on, and that attitude is likely costing us a wealth of new material and stories and characters that I would much rather be following than the ones I’ve already seen. Plus, since we got a glimpse at what this world and the action would like in live-action, I’m not entirely convinced it will translate well. It lacks the energy and fluidity that animation provides, but that’s honestly the least of my worries about this whole endeavor.
I don’t want to come across as a total sourpuss, but that’s just how I feel about this. Ever since I first finished The Last Airbender, I wanted to see more stories in its world, I wanted to see how it evolved, and I wanted to see it mature. The Legend of Korra scratched that itch, and it continued to open new avenues for how stories in this world can be told. While it’s cool that the original creators, who are both very smart and talented, will be involved in this new live-action adaptation, it feels like a significant creative step back for them.