Fans hoping the playful spirit of Avatar: The Last Airbender would carry over to the live-action adaptation on Netflix may have cause to worry.

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who plays Iroh in the upcoming series, spoke to ComicBook.com about adapting the beloved show and how things will be tweaked. While he didn't outright state the series would be darker than its source material, the actor did note that the new show would not be as geared toward younger audiences. "Let's be frank: the first season of the animated series was geared toward little kids, but as the books went on, the themes became way more mature," Lee said. "And 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."

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While The Last Airbender did bring in some heavy story points as it progressed, it always kept a sense of joy and whimsy alive throughout. In fact, the very climax of the original series focused on love and acceptance over a grimmer worldview. The maligned live-action film failed in part because it tried too hard to age up the tone and themes, and fans have been hoping the Netflix series wouldn't make the same mistakes.

It's still too early to tell how Lee's comments will reflect the exact adaptation fans get. One plus the show has over the film is a cast that better reflects the source material. When the series was announced back in 2018, original creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko spoke about the opportunity to get the casting right this time around.

"We’re thrilled for the opportunity to helm this live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We can’t wait to realize Aang’s world as cinematically as we always imagined it to be, and with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast," DiMartino and Konietzko said in a statement following the announcement. "It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build upon everyone’s great work on the original animated series and go even deeper into the characters, story, action, and world-building."

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Since then, however, DiMartino and Konietzko left the series over creative differences. They've since founded Avatar Studios at Nickelodeon and are working on new animated Avatar projects in the original show's continuity. As for the Netflix show, little is known about it, but it's been slowly filling out its cast. In April, Dexter star C.S. Lee was cast as Avatar Roku, signaling a larger role for the character in Season 1. All told, it's clear the adaptation will be changing things from the source material. But only time will time whether it's for the better.

Avatar: The Last Airbender does not yet have a release date on Netflix.

Source: ComicBook.com