Netflix has finally revealed the first trailer for its live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender during the streamer's Geeked Week 2023 virtual event. The big reveal not only gave fans their first look at the iconic characters making the leap from Nickelodeon's popular fantasy animation, but also unveiled an official release date: February 22, 2024.
The trailer reveals the live-action Aang (Gordon Cormier), Katara (Kiawentiio), Sokka (Ian Ousley), Prince Zuko (Dallas James Liu), Uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim), Commander Zhao (Ken Leung), and Princess Azula (Elizabeth Yu). The footages also give us our first look at Appa, the giant yet cuddly air bison/ the Avatar's reliable flying mount. We also get our first look at Suki (Maria Zhang), the Kyoshi Warriors, and Aang's other animal companion, Momo.
Watch the first trailer for Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender below:
In the trailer, a voice can be heard saying, "Time is a funny thing. The past, the future, it all gets mixed up. There's only one way to keep it straight. Always remember who you are." Headed by showrunner Albert Kim, the live-action TV series will adapt the main events of the animated show, which debuted on Nickelodeon in 2005 and spawned a spinoff show The Legend of Korra, video games, comic books, and one live-action movie directed and written M. Night Shyamalan that holds an approval rating of 5% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 192 reviews.
The first look shows iconic moments from the animated series brought to life in the live-action adaptation, including Katara and Sokka's discovery of Aang, who's been asleep inside a block of ice, Sozin's Comet shooting across the sky, and the well-known Earth Kingdom city of Omashu.
Netflix originally announced the live-action adaptation of the animated series in 2018. Original series creators, Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino, were on board to reimagine the Avatar: The Last Airbender, but left over creative differences two years later. Sleepy Hollow's Albert Kim took over the Netflix series, and Michael Goi (Riverdale), Jabbar Raisani (Lost in Space), and Roseanne Liang (Shadow in the Cloud) also joined to direct episodes.
What is Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender about?
Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender is set in a medieval fantasy world full of benders, beings who can telekinetically manipulate one of the elements: fire, water, air, and earth. The Avatar, a reincarnated individual with a mastery of all four elements, who's responsible for maintaining harmony among four four nations of the world. The latest reincarnation is the twelve-year-old airbender named Aang, who emerges at a time when Fire Lord Ozai commanded his armies to kill the Air Nomads and is determined to achieve his plans of world domination. Aang and his friends strive to end the Fire Nation's war against the other nations and take down Fire Lord Ozai before he rules the world.
Netflix also recently released a poster for its live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender:
Now that we have an early 2024 release date on the horizon, expect Netflix to reveal more previews for the highly-anticipated live-action series soon.
