Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked, but nothing is more distorted than attempting to make another Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action adaptation only to disappoint fans again.
After M. Night Shyamalan’s 2010 film version of the iconic animated series, the latest Netflix rendition ought to fulfill fans’ wish: to assemble a group of indigenous actors and wonderfully translate the story of Aang and company to the screen. This did not seem to be the present case.
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Was Not The Artistic Vision Of Original Creators
Avatar: The Last Airbender recently premiered on Netflix, and the cold reception of fans towards the adaptation is already telling the franchise’s future. Though there is no news of a season renewal yet, the creative team helmed the first one with the possibility of releasing a follow-up.
In an interview with IGN, showrunner Albert Kim talked about the changes made in the new Netflix show and the original points they left untouched.
“I’ve used the term that this is a remix, not a cover, in that you’ve got to hit a lot of familiar notes, but you can’t forget that this is supposed to be a new song. So obviously, there are story points and characters that you have to do fairly faithfully from the original.”
He justified that the alterations made were due to the fact that they were translating from two-dimensional to 3D, so there were some gaps to fill in. Perhaps these changes were the ones that disappointed fans.
In 2020, original Nickelodeon creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino released a statement regarding their departure from the Netflix project. They were supposed to helm the series, but due to creative differences, they had to leave.
In an open letter to fans via EW, DiMartino said he “couldn’t control the creative direction of the series,” and he also remarked that “Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar has the potential to be good.” More importantly, he noted that “whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make.”
And clearly, the show was not what fans had also expected to see. Many expressed their dismay with the entire production and even the casting, while others just accepted the fact that M. Night Shyamalan’s movie was leagues better than what Netflix just made.
Avatar Fans Utterly Despised Everything About The New Netflix Adaptation
Following the release of Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix, fans could not help but share their frustration on social media. From the terrible CGI down to the lame acting, viewers believed it was awfully unacceptable. Read these comments below:
Just watched the Avatar live action series on netflix & gosh the tears in my eyes. The directing, editing, the dialogue, the cinematography, the acting, the production, the cgi..everything was garbage from beginning to end. Definitely the worst thing I’ve ever watched in my life pic.twitter.com/8uqklzrNkW
— kira 👾 (@kirawontmiss) February 23, 2024
how did they manage to make the movie look better pic.twitter.com/mTigFJe5Oi
— Percy (@60404) February 23, 2024
how could they do this twice to us? 😭
— Angelica Reed (@Angelica_Reed1) February 23, 2024
When I saw Azula and her fât friends I knew this would be a total waste of time
— Peter Pan (@vlackpanda__) February 23, 2024
Yep – it's pretty bad – Just stick with the animated version
— Mbongeni Ndlovu (@Mbounge_) February 23, 2024
Now that the fans have spoken, the possibility of a sequel lies in the show’s viewership and critical reviews. After all, it has not been a week since its debut on the streaming platform.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is available to watch on Netflix.
