“I see why the creators left”: Avatar: The Last Airbender Latest Updates Upsets Fans for a Valid Reason Despite One Piece Success
An upcoming live-action adventure fantasy series; Avatar: The Last Airbender based on Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko’s television series of the same name is one of the highly awaited shows. Albert Kim was announced as the showrunner back in 2018 with Gordon Cormier, Dallas Liu, Kiawentiio, etc., as the leading cast of the show.
The series tells the story of how Katara and Sokka protect Aang; the long-lost Avatar on his journey to master all four elements; Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. They need to safeguard Aang before the Fire Nation goes on to conquer the world as the benders can control and manipulate the elements from their nation. Albert Kim talks about filming the show without its original creators. Let’s find out.
Albert Kim expresses excitement over adapting Avatar: The Last Airbender for Netflix
Albert Kim in his first interview about the series; Avatar: The Last Airbender to EW, shares his initial reaction upon receiving a call from Netflix to work on the live-action series. He shared that he had been a fan of the Nickelodeon cartoon and decided to re-watch it so that he could explain his daughter but eventually found himself consumed with it. He mentioned,
“The storytelling alone was just so epic and much beyond the audience it was targeted for.”
Sadly the creators of the show Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino announced their departure from the show after being involved for two years. They said in an open letter that the streaming channel was committed to honoring their vision for retelling the story and supporting them to create the live-action series and they were excited for it. But he added that things did not go as they had hoped for as they couldn’t control the creative direction process of the show.
The creators however did praise the streaming channel and Kim as they said via EW,
“Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar has the potential to be good. It might turn out to be a show many of you end up enjoyin. 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.”
After they departed from the show, Kim shared in the interview that he was intimated with continuing with the show and he found himself asking if he wanted to do this. The answer was yes, he did and one of the reasons was how it had deep-rooted Asian culture. He said,
“A live-action version meant setting new benchmarks for respresentation by featuring an all Asian and Indigenous cast.”
Traces of the original creators can still be found in the episodes. The first season has eight episodes.
Fans are hopeful that Albert Kim’s Avatar: The Last Airbender will be faithful to the story
Fans who have loved the original television show were not quite happy with the streaming channel moving forward without the creators. They took to their social media to share their thoughts. One of the users said that they just hope that those remixes stay faithful to the story and don’t change too much.
While another mentioned, “I don’t get why they did this. For One Piece it makes sense because it’s so long. For Avatar it’s just four seasons. They can just do 1 to 1 adaptation. I see why creators left.” Another user had a very similar thought by tweeting, “Book One is reduced to 8 episodes? Some events are a strict 1-to-1 adaptation.”
I don't get why they did this. For One Piece it makes sense because it's so long. For Avatar it's just 4 seasons. They can just do a 1 to 1 adaptation. I see why the creators left.
— NoBlueNaga (@Derpin93) December 19, 2023
Book One is reduced to 8 episodes?
Some events are a strict 1-to-1 adaptation,— Thomas (@thomas01567) December 19, 2023
“The original writers from the animation series left this project because they didn’t want to stick to the original story line. This show is going to be inconsistent to what many fans have grown up on as kids to the animation series,” a fan tweeted.
The original writers from the animation series left this project because they didn’t want to stick to the original story line. This show is going to be inconsistent to what many fans have grown up on as kids to the animation series.
— Godzilla & Kaiju Nation (@GodzillaKaiju23) December 19, 2023
Netflix really needs to let go of its 8 episode formula. Lots of shows need to breathe. Even 10 to 12 episodes would be much better!
— kaito (@kaitokiddo07) December 19, 2023
The majority of the fans mentioned that the streaming giant should let go of its 8-episode formula because a lot of shows need to breathe and 10-12 episodes would be much better.
Avatar: The Last Airbender premiers on February 22, 2024 on Netflix.
