Netflix Unleashes Impressive New Trailer For Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’
Spencer Baculi
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Credit where credit is due: In continuing their One Piece and Yu Yu Hakusho-led efforts to reverse their reputation as one of, if not the worst studios that could ever get their hands on a given IP, Netflix has released an impressive new trailer for their live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender.
RELATED: Netflix Breaks The Ice, Unveils First Trailer For Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Series
Released on January 23rd, the series’ latest preview begins with an unidentified voice warning both audiences series protagonist Aang (Gordon Cormier) that – in declaration similar to the source material’s opening itself – “The Fire Nation is embarked on a dark path and the world might never recover.”
“The world needs the avatar,” the voice continues over a montage of shots ranging from a Fire Nation fleet breaking through the iceburg-pocked landscapes of the Water Tribe’s homeland to an attack made by the Fire Nation on an Air Temple amidst the Air Nomad Genocide, to the Avatar himself emerging from his icy prison. “It needs you Aang.”
From there, the trailer flashes to another montage, this one’s offerings including new looks at the Fire Nation’s royal family of Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim), himself being attended to by his court, Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu), shown unleashing a fiery kick that would make Super Street Fighter II‘s Fei Long proud, and Azula (Elizabeth Yu), who is seen practicing archery presumably as part of her military training.
Atop this fiery footage, Katara (Kiawentiio) can be heard telling her goofball-of-a-brother Sokka (Ian Ousley), “The Fire Nation has destroyed everything in their path. If the world is going to have any chance, it’s going to need Aang.”
Following a shot of the titular Airbender accidentally riding one of his Air Scooters into a statue – as directly taken from the original animated series’ intro – Sokka then sarcastically replies to his sister, “Right. There goes the savior of the world.”
Next, the trailer cuts to see Prince Zuko, as presented alongside various shots of his Uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), posting an image of Aang to a ‘Pepe Silva‘-esque connection board and reaffirming to himself, “I’ve chased down every hint of the Avatar. It’s my destiny.”
The voiceover then turns to Aang, who atop a scene of Lord Ozai toying with an opponent by unleashing just a fraction of his power can be heard declaring, “I’m not someone who can stop the Fire Nation. I don’t want the responsibility.”
Seeking to assure his friend, the ever-confident Sokka informs Aang, “You don’t have to do this alone.”
“You have me, Katara, and a flying ball of fur [Appa],” he recalls as the Gaang’s resident winged-lemur, Momo, lands on his head. “What more do you need?”
Launching into another montage, this collection of scenes providing teases of the series’ takes on minor Fire Nation antagonist June (Arden Cho), the monster form of the Black and White Spirit Hei Bai, and the Earth Kingdom special forces team known as the Kyoshi Warriors, another unknown voice tells Aang, “The world needs you. Remember what it is we’re really fighting for. The ones we love.”
Upon the conclusion of her declaration, a newly-resolute Aang can be heard proudly asserting, “I’m the Avatar and I’m onna save the world – with my friends,” before the trailer launches into one final montage, this one containing teases of Sokka’s boomerang skills, Jet’s (Sebastian Amoruso) sword-fighting skills, and the Earth-bending abilities of one King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar).
Ultimately, the trailer then concludes with both a reveal of Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s stylized logo and a reiteration of its previously confirmed February 22nd release date – though sadly no word on whether or not the series will feature any sort of appearance from its source material’s best character, The Boulder.
Admittedly, as noted above, this new look at Netflix’s live-action Avatar leaves a great initial impression, particularly due to its reveal of just how much respect the series allegedly pays to the animated original.
However, despite the understandable optimism the trailer inspires, fans are invited to keep in mind that the franchise’s original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Koneitzko, left the project in 2020 over creative differences regarding the direction of the series.
“When Bryan and I signed on to the project in 2018, we were hired as executive producers and showrunners,” explained DiMartino in an open letter published to his personal blog. “In a joint announcement for the series, Netflix said that it was committed to honoring our vision for this retelling and to supporting us on creating the series. And we expressed how excited we were for the opportunity to be at the helm. Unfortunately, things did not go as we had hoped.”
“I realized I couldn’t control the creative direction of the series, but I could control how I responded,” he further detailed. “So, I chose to leave the project. It was the hardest professional decision I’ve ever had to make, and certainly not one that I took lightly, but it was necessary for my happiness and creative integrity.”
“And who knows?” he added. “Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar has the potential to be good. It might turn out to be a show many of you end up enjoying. But what I can be certain about is that whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make.”
Likewise, in a statement published to his personal Instagram account, Koneitzko similarly asserted, “When Netflix brought me on board to run this series alongside Mike two years ago, they made a very public promise to support our vision. Unfortunately, there was no follow-through on that promise. Though I got to work with some great individuals, both on Netflix’s side and on our own small development team, the general handling of the project created what I felt was a negative and unsupportive environment.”
“To be clear, this was not a simple matter of us not getting our way,” said Koenitzko. “Mike and I are collaborative people; we did not need all of the ideas to come from us. As long as we felt those ideas were in line with the spirit and integrity of Avatar, we would have happily embraced them. However, we ultimately came to the belief that we would not be able to meaningfully guide the direction of the series.”
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