Derived from a Sanskrit word that literally means “those who descend”, Avatar: The Last Airbender was first released on the Nickelodeon channel. The fanbase has continued to grow since its end in 2008 and the show became one of the most celebrated animated shows of all time.
Related: Avatar: The Last Airbender – 5 Facts To Know Before You See The Netflix Live Action Show
The popularity of the show enticed the production of a movie based on it, made by the controversial director M. Night Shyamalan, and many graphic novels and books. It even inspired a spin-off show based on the Aang’s successor called ‘The Legend of Korra’ airing from 2012 to 2014.
New Projects in the work
In an interview with Comic-Con Meta*Pod, the creators of the show Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko stated that they will focus the franchise on new projects rather than rehashing old stories. Speaking on branching onto new stories, the creators said:
“I think the thing we’re not doing now– not saying this couldn’t happen some day– is, like, we’re not adapting the graphic novels into a [movie or] TV show, we’re not adapting the YA novels into a movie or TV show.”
Also read: Times Katara Was More Likeable Than Toph in Avatar: The Last Airbender
They expressed their interest in continuing to use 2D animation to produce the new projects, even though better technology is out there, calling it a homage to anime, remarking:
“We love all sorts of animation, and we’re gonna be doing all sorts of things, but our main bread and butter is 2D animation… But we’re always gonna be coming at it from that [2D] direction. We’re not planning on doing anything, at the moment, especially none of our big projects, that are starting purely 3D and then trying to stylize them.”
But they aren’t shying away from the new means of graphics, while describing their work step by step, Michael DiMartino said:
“That doesn’t mean we’re gonna be, like, hardcore straightedge 2D using cels and painting the backgrounds with poster paint. The way we always look at it is: start with hand-drawn, handmade artwork and then: what can technology do to help us enhance it, to help us deepen it, to help the filmmaking, to make it more cinematic?”
You may also like: Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Details, Cast & Release Date
Canons of the past
They further stated that they will proceed as if everything included in the franchise is part of the canon. Commenting on it, Michael DiMartino stated:
“We’ve been involved in all those main ancillary stories, so in our minds it’s mostly canon….. but as of right now we’re proceeding as if all this stuff is part of the proper universe and hopefully building on it.”
Check out: Avatar: The Last Airbender Spin-Off Based On Prince Zuko Reportedly in the Works
But they haven’t completely ruled out adapting stories that they have developed in comic books and novels, stating that anything can happen in the future, claiming that:
“There’s probably some stuff if we may go back, like: ‘that doesn’t totally line up with this’, so there may be some little tweaks here and there….”
The show won a Primetime Emmy in Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation and still boasts a rating of 9.3 on IMDb. With its popularity seeing no end, fans can expect new projects in production soon.
Source: Heroic Hollywood
