Netflix Reveals Live-Action Avatar Cast

Television

Netflix has confirmed casting rumors regarding the principal characters in its live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Gordon Cormier will be starring as Aang, and Kiawentiio Tarbell will play Katara. Ian Ousley will portray Katara’s bossy, goofball older brother Sokka, with Dallas Liu rounding out the group as Prince Zuko. Albert Kim also signed onto the remake as executive producer, writer, and showrunner. Kim is known for his work on shows like Nikita and Sleepy Hollow. Kim gave the statement below:

“Flash forward 15 years. Netflix offers me the opportunity to develop a live-action remake of ‘Avatar,’… My first thought was, ‘Why? What is there I could do or say with the story that wasn’t done or said in the original?’ ‘A:TLA’ had only grown in popularity and acclaim over the last decade and a half, which is a testament to how complete and resonant a narrative experience it had been. So if it ain’t broke, why fix it? But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became. VFX technology has advanced to the point where a live-action version can not only faithfully translate what had been done in animation — it can bring a rich new visual dimension to a fantastic world. We’ll be able to see bending in a real and visceral way we’ve never seen before.”

Water. Fire. Air. Boomerang.

Introducing the first of the cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender. pic.twitter.com/XC7Zyk7rCF

— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) August 12, 2021

My hopes for this project aren’t very high. I was skeptical when it was initially announced. When original Avatar creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino dropped out due to creative differences, I lost all faith in this show. I get what Mr. Kim is saying about the advancement of visual effects, but I don’t think Avatar can accurately be translated to live-action. Moreover, I don’t think that should be a goal people have. Avatar is my favorite TV series, and I think it would be just short of impossible to match it, let alone improve on it overall. There are individual episodes that perhaps should have been left out, or an animation error here and there. But I think despite not being without flaws, Avatar is a perfect show in the sense that it accomplishes – and frequently exceeds – its goals. Avatar is an intelligent, emotional, and deeply satisfying experience when viewed from start to finish. This is because of the impressive, continually improving animation and its complex characters and intriguing themes. I don’t understand what would be added by the live-action medium, but I can easily imagine what would be lost, and it’s not worth it. I still plan to watch this show and review it, but I don’t expect to like it.

As for the cast themselves, I don’t know them, so I don’t know how well-suited they are to the roles. I think Cormier and Liu look like decent matches for Aang and Zuko, so there’s that. Tarbell and Ousley don’t have the right look for Sokka and Katara, and I’m just going to leave it at that. It’s hard to feel one way or another about casting news when we essentially already know that this show won’t be in the same spirit as Avatar. Rumors have swirled that they would be aging up the characters, pairing Katara with Zuko instead of Aang, and other such nonsense. Rumors should always be taken with a grain of salt, but, interestingly, the specifics of the casting rumors were dead-on. I’m dreading this series more than anything else, but I feel like I have to see it because of what it’s attached to. The more we hear, I wish this crew was making its own new, original show instead. Avatar is such a unique show, especially among animated fantasies for children. I can’t imagine a remake striking the right tone and atmosphere, let alone delivering such heavy themes in a way children and adults can both understand and enjoy. The last time Avatar was adapted in live-action, it was a total disaster. It should have been the only such attempt. 

What do you think of this casting? Are you looking forward to this remake? Let us know in the comments below!