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Tag: Avatar: The Last Airbender

  • ‘One Piece’ and ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Remain Absent in Netflix’s New Fall Schedule

    ‘One Piece’ and ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Remain Absent in Netflix’s New Fall Schedule

    It’s not easy being a fan of a Netflix show. Besides the never-ending expectation of any show you love getting canceled at any moment, there’s also he problem with Netflix’s very flighty way of handling its marketing for new shows. In their hunt for the next Squid Game or Stranger Things, the streamer relies on little marketing and hopes the show’s quality or built-in IP audience might push it to record heights.

    In Netflix’s first Upfront ever, they tried to sell advertisers on the fact that they are able to host ads on the service with their ad-supported tier with a “wide” audience interested in seeing them. As part of it, they did some surprising big announcements for renewals for Ginny & Georgine or Virgin River; potentially trying to counteract a current perception of their overall strategy.

    In a Fall Scheduled shared by Variety for Netflix, they include four new prestige dramas that include All the Light We Cannot See, Blue Eye Samurai, The Fall of the House of Usher, and Griselda. Comedy-wise they have Neon, Exploding Kittens, Obliderated, and The Vince Staples Show. Strangely enough, two of their biggest new IPs are still missing.

    So far, One Piece has been promoted surprisingly frequently for Netflix’s standards but there was no mention of the show’s release. It wasn’t part of the Fall line-up and is currently just set under “Coming Soon” alongside a variety of other projects. Joining it is Avatar: The Last Airbender, which hasn’t had any mention since production started a long time ago.

    It’s hard to say if they are part of the Fall schedule at all at this point or even if they still have a chance for a Summer release. One Piece at the moment has the best chances of a 2023 release, but Eiichiro Oda has stated he has the final say on if a project releases or not. So, they may just be waiting for that final “go” before giving it a set release date or timing window. Earlier this year they promised 2023, so it’s not like the series has been completely left on the wayside.

    It’s a big show with a very big international audience that has yet to grow stateside. So, they will likely want to jump in as much as they can once they have a more set with the current rumor still pointing to a late August release. Perhaps it’s not part of the Fall line-up as it’s still set as the big final push in the Summer line-up that mainly has The Witcher’s next season on the horizon going into June and July.

    Avatar: The Last Airbender, however, is still a mystery. We don’t even have an official logo or Twitter handle for the series based on a very popular brand. While the original creators left the project, you’d think they would still want to push it heavily nay way they could given the built-in audience but silence still remains their de facto strategy for this property.

    They aren’t the only ones, as 3 Body Problem is also suffering from a silent promotion since the brief tease in last year’s Geeked Week. That event also seemingly has been left behind with TUDUM returning for an in-person event but no official promotion of any kind of their live stream teasing their future slate. Netflix is adjusting to a post-COVID world but is still leaving many wondering what exactly is their strategy and why are they so silent on some of their biggest ventures moving forward.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘The Last Guardian’ Composer Confirms Involvement with Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’

    ‘The Last Guardian’ Composer Confirms Involvement with Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’

    It was first rumored by Knight Edge Media just yesterday that the upcoming live-action Netflix series Avatar: The Last Airbender may have alredy found its composer in the talented Takeshi Furukawa. Now, it seems that he has officially confirmed it himself by taking to his personal Twitter account to share that he is working on the series.

    Not just that, he also highlights that he is honored to “receive stewardship of the incredible themes from the original series.” As such, it seems safe to assume that we’ll very likely see a soundtrack for this new adaptation that takes a lot of inspiration from the original. Something that is surprisingly rare for most live-action adaptations given just how unique they try to make it completely their own. Though, it seems they may also re-use the original as well.

    https://twitter.com/TFurukawaMusic/status/1626659454547795968

    It’s a good start for the drought that we’re having with one of Netflix’s biggest adaptations. They’re putting a lot of money into bringing those series to life but seemingly have not promoted any of it if they are still hoping for a 2023 release. While they’ve rushed out high-budget projects with a three-month announcement window like Cowboy Bebop, it does seem odd they aren’t pushing it harder.

    The series started producing quite a bit of time before One Piece did, but they already gave us a key visual for that adaptation to kick off the year. So, we don’t know what exactly Netflix’s plan is for its major releases this year and when exactly we can expect both series to find their way to the service without competing with each other. Maybe this will finally kickstart more announcements.

    Source: Knight Edge Media, Twitter

  • RUMOR: Netflix’s Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Eyeing a Summer Release

    RUMOR: Netflix’s Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Eyeing a Summer Release

    Rumors are a staple of the entertainment industry, especially in the variety of how much or even how little can make the rounds in regard to future releases. Marvel and DC have commonly become the main focus for many rumors due to just how much is involved with these massive and ambitious projects, but it seems that a new project has potentially become the focus of a new rumor.

    Netflix has been hoping to establish its new Stranger Things with a variety of projects. Wednesday may have already helped fill the void alongside all the cancelations of projects that could’ve grown to that status. Still, they’ve put a lot of money into bringing two iconic franchises to live-action, One Piece, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Surprisingly, the latter started production long before the manga adaptation, yet we’ve seen nothing so far.

    While we’re still waiting for any sign of life on the project, leaker @MyTimeToShineH has taken to Twitter and shared a rather curious bit of information. They have hinted that the series is eyeing a summer release on Netflix. Of course, there’s no actual release date and who knows how far along the series is that it can hit that time window.

    There’s also the question of what that might mean for One Piece, as they’d release two of their biggest projects init he same year. They’ll likely want to space them out to avoid any overlap so that they can dominate viewership for as long as possible. If that series was able to showcase some set photos earlier and also relies on a few less special effects work due to no elemental bending being involved, perhaps that series will see an earlier release.

    It’s still a rumor for now, but it’s at least something and gives us a potential time window to keep an eye out for. Avatar: The Last Airbender is an ambitious adaptation, especially with the reputation the initial adaptation had from M. Night Shyamalan. Plus, the lack of any promotion does leave some questions on if we’ll see another one-month promotion for a series they hope to take the world by storm. If we get a trailer or tease in the next few months, the summer release seems more realistic.

    Source: Twitter

  • INTERVIEW: Michaela Jill Murphy Talks ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ and More

    INTERVIEW: Michaela Jill Murphy Talks ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ and More

    We had the chance to sit down with Toph voice actress, Michaela Jill Murphy, to talk about Avatar: The Last Airbender and the app, Hyype Space, where she posts challenges for fans to partake in. Along with discussing the challenge-based social media platform, Murphy also discussed her time voicing Toph and her feature endeavors.

    If you haven’t already, be sure to give Hyype Space a chance. The most recent challenge from Murphy had fans re-creating their favorite bending scene. The winner, determined by the most claps, ended up winning $300 cash, a signed Book 2 poster, a handpicked personalized rock from the Blind Bandit, and a personalized Metalbending Academy comic or a Toph Funko pop. While the second-place winner took home $200 cash and a personalized Rock and comic and the third-place winner took home $100 cash and a personalized rock. Hyype Space is available through the App Store and Google Play now.

  • ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Netflix Series Rounds Out Ensemble Cast

    ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Netflix Series Rounds Out Ensemble Cast

    As Netflix continues its search for its next breakout hit to follow up the successes of Stranger Things and Squid Game, one project anticipated to do the trick is the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. With principal photography having wrapped for the series in early June, the waiting game for new information is well underway. Now, fans of the hit Nickelodeon series have been treated to a large swath of new castings for the Netflix adaptation. Below are the 20 casting additions officially announced.

    • Amber Midthunder as Princess Yue
    • A Martinez as Pakku
    • Irene Bedard as Yagoda
    • Joel Oulette as Hahn
    • Nathaniel Arcand as Chief Arnook
    • Meegwun Fairbrother as Avatar Kuruk
    • Arden Cho as June
    • Utkarsh Ambudkar as King Bumi
    • Daniel Pudi as The Mechanist
    • Lucian-River Chauhan as Teo
    • James Sie as The Cabbage Merchant
    • Momona Tamada as Ty Lee
    • Thalia Tran as Mai
    • Ruy Iskandar as Lieutenant Jee
    • Hiro Kanagawa as Fire Lord Sozin
    • C.S. Lee as Avatar Roku
    • François Chau as the Great Sage
    • Ryan Mah as Lieutenant Dang
    • George Takei as Koh
    • Randall Duk Kim as Wan Shi Tong

    For fans of The Last Airbender, these are certainly some exciting revelations as many of these are quite memorable characters to the lore of the franchise. Some specific castings of note include James Sie reprising his role as the unfortunate Cabbage Merchant, a character deeply ensconced in the online zeitgeist of the cartoon. Also of note, the casting of Ghosts’ Utkarsh Ambudkar as King Bumi may surprise some due to him being significantly younger than the character’s previous depiction, though it makes sense with the high physicality of the role. What might be most interesting, though, is the apparent inclusion of Mai and Ty Lee in the first season despite originating in season two of the animated series. With that in mind, it seems likely that Princess Azula and her team will have more of a built-up presence early on in this incarnation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

    It’s not currently announced as to when the series will release on Netflix. Though with production having wrapped earlier this year, a 2023 release feels quite logical.

    Source: Variety

  • REPORT: Netflix May Move Away from its Binge Model, Embrace Weekly Releases

    REPORT: Netflix May Move Away from its Binge Model, Embrace Weekly Releases

    There’s been a lot of discussions in regards to what the future might have in store for Netflix. After facing its first major drop in subscribers, the all-in attitude in the streaming market has taken a few steps back. Still, the company is moving forward at full speed with the hope of making up for what it lost, as well as trying to establish an ad-supported model to start covering costs. It seems that may not be the last new move they are taking.

    In a new piece by Puck, it seems like Netflix is starting to test out more approaches to adding longevity to their series. Among them is embracing the weekly release and moving away from their traditional binge model. While in the past it helped a lot of projects get watched fast, it did lead to a different issue once more competition entered the market.

    HBO, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and more have been in the headlines a lot more with their projects releasing weekly. That way, even smaller projects got a little boost for longevity. Whiel series like Squid Game, Stranger Things, and even recently with The Sandman manages to keep up some impressive weekly viewership after a binge release, it creates a strong dependency that every project performs the same way.

    As Netflix hopes to bank on some newer projects to become their “next Stranger Things” like the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and One Piece, it creates a very different dynamic if they keep investing in countless shows and hoping their popularity alone will carry them. So, the move away from the binge model might help them in the long run but also requires a new key performance indicator to define the success of these shows. For now, we can only wait if they truly do start embracing this model.

    Source: Puck

  • REPORT: ‘Community’ Star May Have Joined Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Series

    REPORT: ‘Community’ Star May Have Joined Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Series

    Here’s an iinteresting secret casting, but it may look like that Community‘s Abed, Danny Pudi, may have joined the upcoming live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Whiel details are scarce, Avatar News, who have been very trustworthy in the past, has shared that the actor is playing the Mechanist in the Netflix adaptation.

    They hint that there was a casting call for the Mechanist’s son Teo, who they were looking to cast a South Asian actor in the role with a mobility disability. So, there were already hints that the character would appear in the project. Pudi would make for a great addition to the cast, and has quite the sense of humor to add some levity to the project. Though, it’s unclear how much we’ll see of the actor throughout the series run.

    The production has seemingly wrapped up not too long ago, but we’ve heard more from the still filming One Piece live-action series than the other. With Tudum on the horizon, we could get a first look there but it’s definitely an effects-heavy production. It alongside the before-mentioned manga adaptation is among Netflix’s biggest hopes to build their next Stranger Things, a franchise that will put them on the map.

    Source: Avatar News

  • SDCC: Upcoming ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Movie Will Revisit Aang and Friends

    SDCC: Upcoming ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Movie Will Revisit Aang and Friends

    There have been many speculations about what exactly the new Avatar Studios is going to work on. The world is rich and offers a lot of potential stories to explore. With three new films in development based on the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, we finally got an update on what the first entry will be about. As it turns out, it’ll revisit some old territory as the film will be about Aang and his friends once again. They will seemingly be about their time as young adults rather than when we last saw them in the original series.

    Source: SDCC via TWitter

  • Animated ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Spinoff Trilogy in Development

    Animated ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Spinoff Trilogy in Development

    Netflix has been busy with its live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Yet, after the original creators of the series, Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino, departed the adaptation to found an entire studio focused on the iconic franchise, we’ve anxiously waited for an official confirmation of their next projects Turns out they have not one but three films currently in development.

    Lauren Montgomery, a veteran of the franchise, is directing an untitled film in the franchise with two sequels already being worked on. The creators will be producing alongside Eric Coleman. They will be part of the Avatar Studios banner that was first founded back in February 2021. Ramsey Naito, Paramount Animation, and Nickelodeon Animation president offered the following statement.

    As original creators Mike and Bryan expand the ‘Avatar’ universe with us, we’re keeping it all in the family with Lauren bringing the same kind of expert, beautiful work she did on the original series to her new directing duties on the forthcoming theatrical.

    Ramsey Naito

    UPDATING

    Source: Variety

  • RUMOR: Arden Cho May Have Joined Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’

    RUMOR: Arden Cho May Have Joined Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’

    Netflix has been busy developing its live-action adaptations of popular animated series from all over the world. One of the biggest on their list is the upcoming adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which will once again revisit the story of Aang, as he travels through the world to embrace his future as the Avatar while mastering all four elements. We got a good glimpse of the upcoming adaptation of the first season, but it looks like one more actress may have joined the production.

    According to Knight Edge Media, actress Arden Cho may have joined the production in an unspecific role. There have been theories about her potentially joining due to her being in Vancouver for a month filming an unnamed project. She shared this information on her official Twitter back in March.

    The actress made her big splash in the industry as Kira Yukimura on Teen Wolf, where she recently refused to return due to being only offered half the salary as her male co-stars. She’s gone on to have various guest roles on Castle, Hawaii Five-0, and even got a recurring role with Chicago Med.

    With it being unclear who she might be playing, there are quite a few roles to fill for the first season. We know that it’ll likely adapt Book 1 from the original animated series. So, she could have a role as part of the Fire Nation, who’s going to face off against the Northern Water Tribe. She may also be part of the Earth Kingdom and is a tease for what’s to come in the future. We’ll see if this rumor turns out true once we get a first look at the series.

    Source: Knight Edge Media, Twitter