Avatar: The Last Airbender
Netflix’s live-action adaption of animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender looks like i’ts going forward this summer in Vancouver with new showrunner Albert Kim.
Original co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko exited Netflix’s live-adaption last summer.
Target start date: August 16th.
The Last Airbender takes place in a fantasy world, home to humans, fantastic animals, and supernatural spirits. Human civilization is divided into three pre-industrialized nations, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, and the Air Nomads, and one industrialized nation, the Fire Nation, capable of manufacturing various kinds of machines. Within each nation, an order of men and women called “Benders” have the ability to manipulate their native element.
These Bending arts combine a certain style of martial arts and elemental mysticism. The Bending types are Waterbending, Earthbending, Firebending, and Airbending. In each generation, one person is capable of Bending all four elements; this is the Avatar, the spirit of the planet manifested in human form. When the Avatar dies, he or she is reincarnated into an unborn baby native in the next nation in the Avatar Cycle, which parallels the seasons: winter for water, spring for earth, summer for fire, and autumn for air. While legend holds that the Avatar must master the elements in order, starting with their native element, this can sometimes be compromised when the situation requires it. Learning to bend the element opposite one’s native element is extremely difficult because opposing Bending arts are based on opposing fighting styles and doctrines.
Showrunner: Albert Kim.
Producers: Dan Lin, Ryan Halprin, Lindsey Liberatore
