Photo: Netflix
Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the most celebrated Nickelodeon animated series of all time. The big budget M. Night Shyamalan live-action film of the series? Not so much.
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Well, if at first you don’t succeed, let Netflix try it. The streaming giant just announced that their latest attempt to revive an old show (Full House, Arrested Development, Gilmore Girls, etc) will be a live-action adaptation of the beloved story of Aang, who must master the control of the four elements (water, earth, fire, air) and bring together four nations of elemental warriors to defeat the tyrannical Fire Lord Ozai.
The M. Night-third act twist in all this is that Netflix is smartly handing over the reins to The Last Airbender’s co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who are both signed on to oversee the show.
In a press statement, DiMartino and Konietzko expressed their excitement for the opportunity, while throwing some shade at Shyamalan, who was accused of white-washing the beloved Asian characters: “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.”
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“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,” he continued. “Netflix is wholly dedicated to manifesting our vision for this retelling, and we’re incredibly grateful to be partnering with them.”
Production won’t begin until 2019, but the pair did reveal some concept art (above). What do you think of the M. Night Syamalan version? Leave your comments below.
