Netflix has dropped the first proper trailer for Avatar: The Last Airbender, its live-action remake of the beloved Nickelodeon animated series. The trailer features the show’s core trio of Aang, Katara and Sokka, as well as looks at Zuko, Uncle Iroh (played by The Mandalorian‘s Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) and Firelord Ozai (played by Lost‘s Daniel Dae Kim).
To say that Netflix has big shoes to fill might be the understatement of the year: Despite beginning as a cartoon for younger audiences, Avatar: The Last Airbender matured over its three-season run to become one of the most widely beloved television series ever made. Its commitment to strong character development, paired with an uncommon level of trust in its younger audience to understand the darker, grander themes of its second and third seasons, helped it resonate across age groups. To this day, it is regarded as a high-water mark in young adult entertainment.
The show, which reunites original series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino appears to be trying to avoid the stumbles of 2010’s The Last Airbender, which director M. Night Shyamalan steeped in South East Asian mythology, over and above the original show’s more direct Chinese, Japanese and Korean influences. Albert Kim (Sleepy Hollow, Nikita) serves as showrunner.
Netflix’s version of Avatar: The Last Airbender comes loaded for bear with an almost entirely Asian cast. The core trio are played by relative newcomers Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, and Ian Ousley. The show’s tragic villain-on-a-redemption-arc, Zuko, is played by Dallas Liu.
This trailer is fairly obviously geared toward American audiences, who can only be sold on films and television shows with explosions, so it’s fairly action-packed. This does give us a quick look at the kind of special effects the show will employ, however, and I’m interested to hear what the people think.
Alright, here it comes. Get in the comments and tell me what you think.
Screenshot: Netflix, Kotaku Australia
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