Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action Series on Netflix
Finally! It’s coming. For those fans of the Last Airbender series that aired so many years ago on Nickelodeon, you can finally get off the edge of your seat. The success of the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon on Netflix, a consistent Top 10 show on the Netflix streaming platform, has prompted Netflix to produce a new live action series.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Please keep M. Night Shyamalan as far away as humanly possible. His live action “The Last Airbender” movie was a far cry from the fun that made the cartoon so dear to all the fans. But let’s not be too hasty. Shyamalan’s movie, while it had several drawbacks, did present us with a interesting visual representation of the possibilities related to the world of the Airbenders.
M. Night Shymalan may be vilified by Airbender fans, but he is the legendary director that brought us The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable, and one of my personal favorites of all time, Wide Awake (not your typical M. Night Shyamalan movie). His choices on Airbender were part of a bigger system of Studio missteps. Casting choices, special effects, and story pacing were challenging in converting a story that spans multiple years, and a complex societal allegory, into a single two hour movie.
The Last Airbender is a modern story that attempts the same grandeur as The Lord of the Rings without having the cultural clout. Shyamalan, and Nickelodeon, and Netflix have all had a hand in bringing us to where we are today. Let’s hope they don’t fumble this latest addition to the franchise.
For my part, I’m looking for the new Airbender series, which is currently delayed in production as a result of Covid-19. I raise my glass of chocolate milk to those who have taken on the effort, and wish them “flameo” luck, as Aang, our intrepid Airbender might say!
