A virtual reunion of the original voice cast for the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender turned its conversation to Netflix’s planned live action remake of the show and a couple of the cast members are unsure that it can live up to expectations.
The virtual reunion aired on Jan. 9 2021 and featured the original voice talent for the animated show as well as the show's voice director, Andrea Romano. Talent in attendance included Dante Basco (Zuko), Jack DeSena (Sokka), Dee Bradley Baker (Appa and Momo), Grey Griffin (Azula), Olivia Hack (Ty Lee), Jennie Kwan (Suki), Cricket Leigh (Mai) and Michaela Murphy (Toph). The discussion eventually shifted to Netflix's upcoming live action adaptation.
Baker said, "I just don't know how you fulfill that any better than this show did. I'm open to whatever they do with the live-action series, which I know nothing about, but it's like, 'Well, how do you do this better than the way that it was rendered on this show?' I don't know how you do that! I hope you can." He went on to say that the original was "the high watermark, in all aspects, of storytelling and voice acting," and that he'll "never be in a better show." Hack agreed, adding, "Especially when you're doing the exact same series, but as a live-action. You're not adding onto it or expanding the universe. You'’re doing the same thing, which feels redundant, but I don't know."
Netflix's attempt to remake the animated series is the second attempted live action remake following director and writer M. Night Shyamalan's 2010 film adaptation The Last Airbender. The film is considered by some critics to be one of the worst films of all time and has a critic score of 5 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The original voice cast and crew got the chance to share their criticisms of the film during the virtual reunion, as well. Romano said the film was "very disappointing" and that "it didn’t work." "They also didn't really write a feature script," added DeSena, "They just condensed a whole season of television in a way that made it all feel really [rushed]." Basco was previously asked what his thoughts on the film were in a 2016 interview. He responded that series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko had advised him not to watch it.
Creators DiMartino and Konietzko left their roles as executive producers and showrunners of Netflix's reimagining in August due to creative differences, a move that made fans skeptical of the remake's potential quality. "Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar has the potential to be good," DiMartino's announcement read. "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."
All three seasons of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender are currently available to stream on Netflix. The series became Netflix's most popular TV series upon its streaming debut in May 2020.
Source: WinterIsComing