During CinemaCon this week, Paramount announced that Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Dune) and Eric Nam have joined the cast of the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender movie. The new film is currently in development at Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Studios under the working title "Aang: The Last Airbender."
Joining Bautista and Nam in the film are Dionne Quan (All Grown Up!, The Fairly Odd Parents), Jessica Matten (Dark Winds), and Roman Zaragoza (Ghosts).
Plot details for the new animated Avatar film are still being kept under wraps, but rumors claim that the movie will be set between the events of the Avatar: The Last Airbender finale and its sequel series, The Legend of Kora. It will follow Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Zuko as young adults
Paramount and Nickelodeon announced plans for three standalone Avatar animated films back in June 2022. Aang: The Last Airbender is the first of these films. It is set for release on October 10, 2025.
It will be directed by Lauren Montgomery, who worked on the original Avatar: The Last Airbender series, with William Mata co-directing. Original series creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are executive producing alongside Eric Coleman.
The Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series ran for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series follows 12-year-old Aang, an "avatar" capable of bending all four elements (water, earth, fire, and air), along with his friends Katara, Sokka, and Toph as they attempt to end the Fire Nation's war against the other nations ad defeat Fire Lord Ozai before he conquers the world. Produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Avatar: The Last Airbender was a huge success and received critical acclaim from critics.
The Legend of Korra was a sequel series to Avatar: The Last Airbender, and ran for 52 episodes from April 2012 to December 2014. The series still focuses on people who can bend one of the four elements, with just one individual, the Avatar, capable of bending all four elements. The series follows Avatar Korra, the successor and reincarnation of Aang. Like its predecessor, The Legend of Korra was also met with praise for its writing and production values.
Even to this day, Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra remain two very popular animes. Both series can be streamed on Netflix. In addition to the animated series, Netflix also just released a live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The first season was met with mostly positive reviews from critics and fans alike and was popular enough for the streaming service to greenlight a second and third season.