“Avatar: The Last Airbender” lessons for future adaptations

The highly-anticipated live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon’s beloved animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender is finally in the works at Netflix. However, as with any adaptation, there are several hurdles that the show must overcome to be a success. The original cartoon, which aired from 2005 to 2008, follows the story of Aang, a 12-year-old boy with the power to control all four elements, as he tries to bring peace and balance back to a world torn apart by war. In the 100 years of his absence, the Fire Nation has invaded the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes after (almost) wiping out the Air Nomads.

If the Avatar: The Last Airbender series has any chance of meeting the expectations set by the original show, it needs to take care to avoid several of the problems that Netflix’s other live-action adaptations have had. This isn’t the first time the TV show has been adapted, either: when M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action movie was released in 2010, it was met with scathing reviews from fans of the show. Luckily, that means that this upcoming series has a few examples of what not to do, and this can help it focus on the right things. Hopefully, Netflix was paying attention.

One of the most important things that the show must do is honor the original creators’ vision. Unlike many unsuccessful adaptations attempted by Netflix, Avatar: The Last Airbender started the project alongside the two creators of the original series. Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko were set to be the driving force of this new series, which was a good sign that the series would remain faithful to the original story. Unfortunately, the two departed the project in August of 2020, presumably because of creative differences.

After the fans’ public outrage over the Avatar: The Last Airbender creators’ departure, it was reported that those creative differences – notably, changing the characters’ ages – would be reversed to realign with the original show. Now that the actors have all been cast, it seems that they were telling the truth. It also confirms that Netflix took care to cast actors of the appropriate ethnicities to play their characters.

If nothing else, this does mean that Netflix is aware of how much the original series means to its existing fans. The fact that Netflix made such a significant change to their plans creates hope that they will stay aligned with the original show as much as possible now that they know how strongly people feel about it. Hopefully, these now-altered details are the reasons that Konietzko and DiMartino felt uncomfortable with Netflix’s live-action series. While it’s likely the two creators will be unavailable to return to the project because of their plans with Avatar Studios, it’s not entirely out of the question that their influence will continue to affect the live-action series.

Another challenge that the show must face is time management. The standing report is that the series will feature eight episodes in total, each around an hour long. The original plan was to have 10 episodes, but considering the original show’s 20 episodes each operated with under a half-hour of screen time, eight should provide enough time for the show to examine all the plot points it needs for season 1. It will be cutting things close, but if certain storylines are abbreviated and filler content is skipped, the series should have no trouble telling the right story.

The storylines in Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation need to be chosen with care, because season 1 introduced many important characters and set up significant development potential for the world of the show as well as its characters. The original show rarely had true “filler” episodes, and the same should be true for the live-action series. While some minor changes are to be expected, it’s important that the show doesn’t deviate too far from the source material and the story that fans know and love.

Additionally, the live-action series needs to pay close attention to its special effects and action sequences. One of the things that made the original series so successful was its unique blend of Eastern and Western influences, combined with impressive animated fight scenes. The live-action adaptation will need to find a way to translate this into live-action while keeping the feel of the original series intact. It’s important to note that this will be a difficult task, as the original show was animated specifically to allow for creative bending of the elements, something that will be much harder to achieve with live-action.

Overall, the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender has a lot to live up to. However, if Netflix and the new creative team take care to honor the original creators’ vision, manage their time effectively, stay true to the story and characters, and execute their special effects and action sequences well, the series has a chance to be a hit with both old and new fans.

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