There is a movie that the Avatar: The Last Airbender fanbase widely agreed to pretend does not exist. That live-action movie is M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender. Actor Utkarsh Ambudkar, star of the upcoming live-action series, says the Netflix series won't be like that.
Speaking to CBR, Ambudkar discussed playing King Bumi and the quality of the show. He stated, "I think people are really gonna be pleased when they see the series. It's done super well. Everybody who's part of the show loves it. They're going to do it justice." He then added, "I'm not trying to diss my own people, but... M. Night, I got your back, I ride or die for you, but we're doing something different with this one. That's the most diplomatic way I can say it, and I'm really excited for people to see the action."
While Netflix recently confirmed the full cast of its Avatar: The Last Airbender series, details concerning the adaptation remain scarce. Ambudkar plays King Bumi, the eccentric and powerful ruler of Omashu. He will appear alongside the show's core cast consisting of Gordon Cormier as Avatar Aang, Dallas Liu as Zuko, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Uncle Iroh and Daniel Dae Kim as the ruler of the Fire Nation, Firelord Ozai.
Lee previously teased the Netflix series will be somewhat more mature than its animated counterpart, likening it to its third season, Book Three: Fire. "You still have that whimsical quality, but the themes were so much deeper and the character arcs were so much more mature. That quality is what they're trying to bring into the first season," he said.
The Last Airbender entered development in 2007, not too before Nickelodeon's animated series concluded in 2008. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the film was intended to be the first in a trilogy, with each instalment adapting one of the show's three seasons. Produced on a budget of $150 million, the film was released in 2010 and grossed just $319 million at the box office worldwide.
Avatar's Live-Action Troubles
Critics widely panned the film for the performance of its cast, the heavily conflated and complicated plot and its overuse of expository dialogue. It is considered by some to be one of the worst films ever made and became the subject of controversy for whitewashing many of its characters. The reception and poor financial performance led to Nickelodeon scrapping plans for future films. Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko later revealed they were not interested in a live-action adaptation in the first place and that it went ahead without their approval.
The creators were initially attached to Netflix's upcoming adaptation as showrunners but left due to creative differences. On social media, Konietzko shared an open letter stating, "Whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make." Both Konietzko and DiMartino were later placed at the helm of Avatar Studios, a division of Nickelodeon tasked with producing a variety of projects expanding the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender does not yet have a release date.