Live-Action Avatar Preps for a ‘Stranger Things’ Problem in Advance

Summary:

• The creators of the new live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders
• So far, the project seems quite promising, showing due respect to the source material
• However, a major storyline from the show's first season had to be dropped, leaving fans wondering how it will affect the plot

Avatar: The Last Airbender was a truly outstanding animated TV series that proved to be a breath of fresh air in the field of kids' shows that managed to remain consistently great throughout its three-season run from 2005 to 2008.

Thanks to its intriguing plot, adorable characters, and incredible world-building, Aang's story was perfect for viewers of all ages, gaining a huge fan base over the years and barely aging thanks to its timeless visual style.

Fans Were Wary Of The New Series For Good Reason

However, like many other animated classics, Avatar has not escaped the fate of being adapted to live action, but the result was so horrendous that after the release of 2010's The Last Airbender, most fans believed it was the first and last such attempt.

Given all this, the announcement of Netflix 's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series was met with a lot of skepticism, but as more information about the upcoming project was released, fans warmed up to it quite a bit.

Although the show hasn't been released yet, so far it looks promising and much closer to the original than the infamous 2010 movie, and the TV format would allow the story to be told in its entirety without any theatrical limitations.

However, that doesn't mean there won't be any changes from the original, as it was recently revealed that the first season of the live-action show will ignore a major plot point from its predecessor, albeit for good reason.

Sozin's Comet Storyline Was Shelved Until Later Seasons

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the creator of the new series, Albert Kim, revealed that they had to drop the Sozin's Comet storyline to avoid the problem of child actors aging between seasons.

The original series revealed the existence of the comet in the very first season, and it added an element of a race against time for the characters, as they had a limited amount of time before its arrival, which would cause the main antagonist's power to increase immeasurably.

To avoid falling into the same trap as, say, Stranger Things, the writers decided to leave this story for later seasons, so they could add time gaps between them if necessary.

Although fans are wondering how the writers would change such a large part of the first season's story, they admit that it is perfectly reasonable, as it is impossible to predict when season 2 will come out, if the show is even renewed for it.

The debut season of the live-action TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender will premiere on Netflix on February 22, 2024.

Sources: Entertainment Weekly, Reddit