The Illuminerdi has learned that Netflix’s live-action reimagining of the beloved Nickelodeon animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, has found their new showrunner.
Avatar: The Last Airbender fans were thrilled when the critically acclaimed animated series was added to Netflix earlier this year and the Nickelodeon animated show shot to number one on Netflix’s top ten list. The streamer is expanding the franchise with a live-action reimagining of the award-winning series, but many Avatar: The Last Airbender fans were disappointed when the original creators of the animated series left the live-action Netflix project over creative differences.
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Bryan Konietzko shared the news in an Instagram post and Michael Dante DiMartino wrote about the situation in an open letter on his blog. With the original creators of the series leaving the project over creative differences many fans grew nervous about what it could mean for the live-action reimagining. However, The Illuminerdi can now exclusively reveal that Netflix has found the new showrunner for the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender.
NETFLIX’S LIVE ACTION AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER NEW SHOWRUNNER
The live-action reimagining of Avatar: The Last Airbender has found their new showrunner with Albert Kim.
Albert Kim got his start as a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Details, and People. Kim worked as a Senior News Director at ESPN form 2005-2008 and created the entertainment news program ESPN Hollywood.
He made his jump to television writing by first working on the TNT heist series Leverage. He then worked as a writer on Nikita, working his way up from co-producer to co-executive producer. Following Nikita Kim worked as a writer and co-executive producer, then executive producer, on the Fox supernatural mystery drama Sleepy Hollow. Kim seems like a great fit as a showrunner for Avatar: The Last Airbender having worked on shows that include action, adventure, mystery, and more.
Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender was split into three seasons or books with the first two seasons being 20 episodes and the third 21. The animated series featured 30-minute episodes, as is standard for Nickelodeon series. The new Netflix series will feature ten episodes with the episodes being about a hour long. This live-action series will not necessarily be an exact adaptation, which is further evidenced by the original creator exiting and that it’s described as a reimagining.
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With hour long episodes it will be interesting to see how they adapt the beloved story of Avatar: The Last Airbender into a new series. The core of the series is the same with Aang and his friends working to save the world from Fire Lord Ozai’s tyrannical war, but how those adventures play out in the new show is what will be fun to watch.
NEW CHARACTER DETAILS FOR AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
New details about the main characters have also been revealed. Although they will likely be very similar to their animated counterparts, it’s important to note that this is a reimagining and there seems to be a bit of a difference in regards to age.
In the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender Sokka is Katara’s older brother. Sokka is 15 and Katara is 14. It looks like the live-action reimaging is changing this up with Katara now the older sibling at age 16 and Sokka her younger brother at age 14. Aang will still be 12. (Well, technically about 112.)
This switch will likely have effects on the characters and their dynamic, with Katara having been the one to take care of Sokka and now a four-year age difference between Katara and Aang, instead of the original two years. If this is ultimately the direction they take the characters in, it’ll be interesting to see how this changes the characters and their relationships.
Are you excited about Netflix’s live-action reimagining of Avatar: The Last Airbender? What do you think about the new showrunner? How about the change in character ages? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media.
KEEP READING: THE LEGEND OF KORRA IS COMING TO NETFLIX IN AUGUST FOLLOWING AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER’S RESURGENCE
