‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Netflix Series Announces Cast, New Showrunners

We’ve got very mixed feelings about Netflix’s upcoming Avatar: the Last Airbender TV series, and not just because the movie was hot garbage. The big concern is that the show’s original creators,  Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, had bailed months ago over creative differences with the streamer. So, without the OG creators involved, who could be trusted to herald Aang and his crew into the world of Live-Action?

Today we not only have an answer to that, but we know who will be starring in the show. To answer the first question,  Albert Kim (Sleepy Hollow, Nikita) will be showrunner, head writer, and executive producer. Joining him as producers will be Dan Lin (The Lego Movie, Aladdin), Lindsey Liberatore (Walker) and Michael Goi (Swamp Thing). Roseanne Liang will direct along with Goi and Jabbar Raisani.

Now, the big question is who will make up team Avatar? Here’s the breakdown with character summaries from the network:

Gordon Cormier, Age 12 – Aang
“a 12-year-old who happens to be the Avatar, master of all four elements and the keeper of balance and peace in the world. An airbending prodigy, Aang is a reluctant hero, struggling to deal with the burden of his duties while still holding on to his adventurous and playful nature.”

Kiawentiio – Katara
“a determined and hopeful waterbender, the last in her small village. Though only 14, she’s already endured great personal tragedy, which has held her back from rising to her true potential, though it’s never dimmed her warm and caring spirit.”

Ian Ousley – Sokka
“Katara’s resourceful 16-year-old brother who is outwardly confident and he takes his responsibility as the leader of his tribe seriously, despite his inner doubts over his warrior skills … doubts that he masks with his wit and deadpan sense of humor.”

Dallas Liu – Zuko
“a skilled firebender and the intense and guarded Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Currently roaming the world in exile, he’s on an obsessive quest to capture the Avatar because he believes that is the only way to reclaim his life and live up to the demands of his cruel and controlling father, the Fire Lord.”

“Netflix’s format meant we had an opportunity to reimagine a story that had originally been told in self-contained half-hour episodes as an ongoing serialized narrative,” said Kim in a blog post (via THR). “That meant story points and emotional arcs we’d loved in the original could be given even more room to breathe and grow.”

“A live-action version would establish a new benchmark in representation and bring in a whole new generation of fans. This was a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly exists, very similar to the one we live in.”

Albert Kim