Brandon Clack, Staff Writer
The trailer for the new Avatar: The Last Airbender officially came to Netflix on January 23, 2024. The live action series was initially announced in 2018, but was walked away from in 2020 over creative differences. The filming for this eventually picked back up, leading to the trailer release that audiences got in 2024.
Upon viewing of the trailer, it’s clear that the first season incoming will be centered around the first book. Viewers can expect to see Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Uncle Iroh, Azula, Appa, Momo, Jet, Boomie, and other Book 1 centric characters. It’s important to note that main character, Toph, isn’t going to be introduced until Season 2 because the “Blind Bandit” is a Book 2 character.
The trailer sets up the story for the main character, Aang (played by Gordon Cormier), the Avatar, as he embarks on his journey of preparing to save the world. The story itself follows 4 different nations- the Fire, Earth, Air, and Water Kingdoms, who’ve been living in disarray as the fire nation tries to wipe out the other nations kingdoms. The avatar, who’s the only one who can master all four elements, has been missing for 100 years, but is discovered by two water tribe siblings, Katara and Sokka. Together, the 3 of them will go on an adventure across the world, flying on Appa’s back, with Sokka’s pet-companion, Momo, to help Aang master the four elements.
Hype for the new live action series isn’t unwarranted, due to recent live-action animated adaptations being criticized for the “excessive darkness” used in the lighting, conflicting with all the colors used through the CGI. However, this seems to be less of an issue here. The lighting in dark and bright settings are very clearly visible, the special effects look realistic, the animals and their animations look like a realistic version of those from the show, the bending looking as realistic as it could be, and even little Momo looking adorable.
The live action series will arrive to Netflix on February 22, 2024.
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