Netflix is making a live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon’s hit animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender following its theatrical release by M. Night Shyamalan in 2010.
The cartoon’s original showrunners Michael DiMartino and Bryan Knietzko will executive produce the adaptation, both who are actively avoiding the missteps of Shyamalan’s adaptation, who was criticized for white-washed heroes and dark-skinned villains.
“We’re thrilled for the opportunity to helm this live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender,” the showrunners said in a press release. “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.”
Avatar: The Last Airbender originally aired in 2005 and centers around a young boy named Aang, whose fate to master the command of four elements and mobilize four nations against a tyrannical villain. It heavily draws inspiration from anime in its visual aesthetics to its mature storytelling.
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