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The Avatar Is Back! But Not in the Way You Think...

This one's a mind-bender.

By Kyle S.Published 6 years ago 3 min read
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Avatar in the REAL world?

Great news for anyone who grew up with Avatar: the Last Airbender like I did, Aang and the gang are coming to Netflix, which is great news... Right?

Live-action 'Airbender' is coming to Netflix.

Call me Toph.. cause I didn't see this coming.

Well for something like this I'd consider myself a skeptic, and here's why. Eight years ago, in 2010, M. Night Shyamalan teamed up with Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures to create the infamous disaster that is The Last Airbender, a financial success, but a critical flop receiving an IMDB rating of 4.2 out of 10, a six percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and a combined Metacritic score of 20 percent out of 100.

The Last Airbender was Shyamalan's worst-reviewed movie and for good reason.

Critics and fans both panned the movie for squandering the quality source material, bad acting, weak and confusing plot, and more. I'm an optimistic person, but after seeing what a live-action Avatar could be, I've garnished some doubt.

Who's working on this?

Please don't pull a Shyamalan

Fortunately, series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino are working with Netflix to create the show, production begins in 2019.

"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," explained Konietzko and DiMartino.

Netflix has created phenomenal originals from the award-winning Stranger Things to the cult classic turned mainstream craze Bojack Horseman. Vice-president of Kids & Family Content at Netflix, Melissa Cobb said, “We are committed to honoring Bryan and Mike’s vision for this re-telling 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.”

Will live-action be its death?

Hopefully not in the Avatar State...

As of right now, there are no new updates on how many episodes we should expect to see from the show, or who will be cast to play the iconic group of adolescences. Avatar: The Last Airbender ended its run around ten years ago, leaving its print in the cartoon world as not just one of the best cartoons, but also one of the greatest shows Nickelodeon has ever put out, setting the bar extremely high for any competition or future cartoon shows.

I grew up watching Aang and friends travel the world and kick fire-nation butt along the way, it a funny group of characters and a funny looking world, but the difference between Avatar and other cartoons was growth and depth. The world they traveled felt lived in, from the corrupted Dai Li agents in Ba Sing Se to the old man who could never sell cabbages in peace. I personally loved every second of adventuring with the group, watching them grow up in a world that didn't love or understand them like they did each other, every second was amazing.

Everybody is entitled to their own opinions, however, this show carries special meaning to me when it aired. Waking up in a foreign world where the only people you can really trust are the ones you understand the best, exploring a world where people's lives are distorted because of what their ancestors had done and been through, you could never that kind of depth in shows like Spongebob and Billy and Mandy (unless it was anime). So it was truly eye-opening to witness such an amazing show in the time it was around.

If I'm being truthful, live-action Avatar still has me worried but seeing how many capable hands-on working on the show...

I'll prepare for the worst, but hoping for the best.

entertainment
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About the Creator

Kyle S.

A young soul with an old mind just happy to be here. Manga, Video Games, and Comics run my life

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