Cast Announced for Netflix’s Live-Action “Avatar: The Last Airbender”
by Emily Nagle
This morning, Netflix revealed the main cast list for its live-action version of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
Starring as Aang, the last surviving Airbender, will be Gordon Cormier. Siblings Katara and Sokka will be respectively portrayed by Kiawentiio and Ian Ousley. Dallas Liu is on board to play Zuko, the prince of the Fire Nation.
Also confirmed as part of the team as writer, show runner, and executive producer Albert Kim. In a blog post on the Netflix website, he discussed the importance of casting AAPI and Indigenous actors in the series, explaining that it adds a layer of authenticity to the story.
“A live-action version would establish a new benchmark in representation and bring in a whole new generation of fans,” Kim wrote. “This was a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly exists, very similar to the one we live in.”
After airing on Nickelodeon for three seasons from 2005 to 2008, “Avatar: The Last Airbender”’s popularity only skyrocketed over the years. The critically acclaimed show even received a sequel, “The Legend of Korra”, which ran from 2012 to 2014 for four seasons.
The creators of the original series, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, will not be attached to the upcoming revival. Although they exited the project last summer, the duo established Nickelodeon’s Avatar Studios, which will create all kinds of content set in the “A:TLA” universe.
