Spoilers Avatar: The Last Airbender - Netflix Live Action Version

[Christopher]

when said Daniel Dae Kim would be Fire Lord Ozai and that Paul Sun-Hyung Lee would be Uncle Iroh ... that was when I really started to get on board.

Yeah, there are a number of notable names here. Hiro Kanagawa as Sozin, Amber Midthunder as Yueh, Tamlyn Tomita as Suki's mother, Kung Fu's Yvonne Chapman as Avatar Kyoshi, George Takei as the voice of Koh... and of course the one we've all been waiting for, James Sie reprising his iconic cry of "My cabbages!"

 

[JD]

Holy crap, I didn't know George Takei is voicing Koh, that's awesome!

 

[Christopher]

Holy crap, I didn't know George Takei is voicing Koh, that's awesome!

Koh, myyy...

 

[Tuskin38]

Daniel Dae Kim and George Takei were also voices in the animated series.

Daniel Dae Kim voiced General Fong in the first episode of Book 2, the Earth Kingdom general who was trying to force Aang back into the Avatar State.

George Takei voiced an unnamed Fire Nation Prison Warden in Season 1.


If the show gets a season 2, I wonder how they're going to deal with the actors being so much older since filming of Season 1. They filmed between November 2021 and June 2022. So they actors could be almost 3-4 years older by the time they get around to filming Season 2.

Add a time skip between the seasons?

 

[Christopher]

If the show gets a season 2, I wonder how they're going to deal with the actors being so much older since filming of Season 1. They filmed between November 2021 and June 2022. So they actors could be almost 3-4 years older by the time they get around to filming Season 2.

Add a time skip between the seasons?

As it happens, there's an interview today addressing exactly that question: https://gizmodo.com/avatar-last-airbender-netflix-sozin-comet-1851202942

Basically, they're tabling Sozin's Comet as an imminent threat for now, to allow for a looser timeline going forward.

Which disturbs me a bit, since the Shyamalan movie also left out Sozin's Comet, and the upshot of that was that Aang's spiritual visions in the movie boiled down to the Dragon Spirit telling him to do exactly what he was already doing, rendering the entire thing pointless. Hopefully they'll deal with it better this time.

 

[Thestral]

As I recall, the ticking clock of Sozin's Comet coming back within a year's time was only established when the Gaang visitied Wan Shi Tong's library.

Or wait no, that was when they learned about the Day of Black Sun, wasn't it? And it was the Dragon Spirit who told them about the year, right.

Maybe those two could be combined? Kim's quote is "We removed that particular ticking clock from our show for now..." so if they do in fact get second and third seasons, assuming they include the trip to the Library in Season 2, maybe Sokka could find information on both the predicted date of the Comet's return as well as the Day of Black Sun, and it could be 1/3/5 years, depending on how much time the production team needs. After all, "for now" sounds like the intention is still to have it as the ticking clock.

I've been assuming Wan Shi Tong himself will only be an extended cameo in Season 1.

 

[Christopher]

As I recall, the ticking clock of Sozin's Comet coming back within a year's time was only established when the Gaang visitied Wan Shi Tong's library.

Or wait no, that was when they learned about the Day of Black Sun, wasn't it? And it was the Dragon Spirit who told them about the year, right.

It was Avatar Roku in "The Winter Solstice, Part 2" in season 1 who said, "Sozin's Comet will return by the end of this summer, and Fire Lord Ozai will use its power to finish the War, once and for all. If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world. Aang. You must defeat the Fire Lord, before the comet arrives." https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Transcript:Winter_Solstice,_Part_2:_Avatar_Roku

The Dragon Spirit is exclusive to the feature film, created as an amalgam of the various spiritual guides Aang had in the series.

After all, "for now" sounds like the intention is still to have it as the ticking clock.

Or to leave it open as a possibility depending on how things go. You never know for sure what real-life factors might affect a production, so it's best to have flexible plans.

 

[Thestral]

Ah right, thanks. I've never seen the feature film so thought I had forgotten the spirit of Roku's dragon speaking to Aang after healing Hei-bai.

Regardless, I'm sure that Sozin's Come will play a role in the endgame still. And I think my theory about Wan Shi Tong's Library is plausible.

Holy crap, I didn't know George Takei is voicing Koh, that's awesome!

That's awesome in theory but I realllllly hope he brings the same sort of deeply unsettling, creepy voice as the original voice actor. Given it'll surely be a voice role I wouldn't mind if they'd kept the same actor.

 

[Tuskin38]

Netflix have released a cast list
https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/avatar-the-last-airbender-netflix-cast-announcement

Don't think there's anyone new in there.

 

[thribs]

I don't think Ozai was ever shown in the first season of the animated show. They always tried to keep him mysterious until the end.

 

[Christopher]

Netflix have released a cast list
https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/avatar-the-last-airbender-netflix-cast-announcement

Don't think there's anyone new in there.

I don't recall Avatar Kuruk being mentioned in the cast list before.

I don't think Ozai was ever shown in the first season of the animated show. They always tried to keep him mysterious until the end.

Yeah, and we didn't meet Mai and Ty Lee until season 2, and barely glimpsed Azula in season 1. Nor did we see Wan Shi Tong until season 2. No doubt a number of things are being rearranged.

 

[Tuskin38]

Yeah, Wan Shi Tong stood out to me.

Also heh, according to Wikipedia Randall Duk Kim, who voices Wan Shi Tong in the Netflix Series, is credited as 'Old Man in Temple' in the 2010 movie.

Nor did we see Wan Shi Tong until season 2. No doubt a number of things are being rearranged.

I was just reminded that it was said in the original series that General Zhao visited the library when he was younger, so they could be showing that flashback.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I was just reminded that it was said in the original series that General Zhao visited the library when he was younger, so they could be showing that flashback.

And cooking some fabulous chicken.

 

[JD]

Regardless, I'm sure that Sozin's Come will play a role in the endgame still. And I think my theory about Wan Shi Tong's Library is plausible.

I can't believe they'd completely get rid of it, I'm thinking they'll just have it's arrival further out or just not give an exact time for when it will arrive.

 

[Thestral]

Yeah, Wan Shi Tong stood out to me.

I was just reminded that it was said in the original series that General Zhao visited the library when he was younger, so they could be showing that flashback.

If they do show the Zhao flashback they could just show him taking advantage of the spirit's relative benevolence and have it be fairly quick. I hope that they keep Wan Shi Tong's true nature mysterious until Season 2 and do a pretty straightforward adaption of his episode. Having him appear as one of several spirits when Aang travels to the Spirit World would be one thing, but emphasizing his sinister nature is something I'd prefer they spend time building towards, especially if they're doing Koh (and I presume that's where Kuruk will come in?).



Edited to add: Just saw EW's story about the show, and... I am slightly concerned again by a part of it.

Ousley, 21, knew early on what he hoped to maintain in his character from the original. ... But, Ousley notes, “There's more weight with realism in every way.” Some things that worked in the more zany animated kids’ show hit differently in live action. Kiawentiio mentions one of them: “I feel like we also took out the element of how sexist [Sokka] was. I feel like there were a lot of moments in the original show that were iffy.”

She’s not wrong. There are entire Reddit threads about such instances, discussing how the original Sokka (prior to his character journey) would make remarks like “Girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting.” Ousley agrees with Kiawentiio: “Yeah, totally. There are things that were redirected just because it might play a little differently [in live action].”

We'll see how it plays out, but Sokka's growth out of a sexist teenager that had certain assumptions about men and women/boys and girls because of cultural expectations and the trauma of being "the only warrior left" is a critical part of his character and I'd hate for that to be discarded because it makes him have rough edges at first. I think it's really important in fact to show that a young man like Sokka can grow from having problematic views to realizing he was wrong and doing better.

That was the whole point of his part in the Kyoshi Island episode...and it foreshadows the trouble Katara runs into at the North Pole.

But we'll see.

 

[Starscream2112]

Never seen the animated show, Is it worth checking out before I watch this?

 

[Wingcommanderdarkwolf01]

Never seen the animated show, Is it worth checking out before I watch this?

It's one of the greatest animated series of all time.
So yes.

 

[Christopher]

Never seen the animated show, Is it worth checking out before I watch this?

Hmm, interesting question. It and its sequel The Legend of Korra are absolutely worth checking out on their own merits, but the Netflix series is a reinvention and retelling, so there's theoretically no reason you couldn't watch it first, since presumably it's designed to be accessible to new viewers. Although I imagine it will contain a number of in-jokes and Easter eggs that will carry more weight if you're familiar with the original.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Hmm, interesting question. It and its sequel The Legend of Korra are absolutely worth checking out on their own merits, but the Netflix series is a reinvention and retelling, so there's theoretically no reason you couldn't watch it first, since presumably it's designed to be accessible to new viewers. Although I imagine it will contain a number of in-jokes and Easter eggs that will carry more weight if you're familiar with the original.

Cabbages

 

[Christopher]

Cabbages

I was amused by the bit in the EW article that James Sie was treated as the biggest celebrity on the set.