Avatar: The Last Airbender is set to make its live-action debut on Netflix in February. While fans were excited and had been waiting for the series for over half a decade, a recent interview with the cast of the Netflix show has left fans thoroughly disappointed.
In a recent interview, Kiawentiio and Ian Ousley revealed that the fan-favorite character Sokka has undergone a significant personality shift in the live-action by toning down his blatant s*xism. As soon as the news went viral, fans expressed their disappointment and alleged that this might be why the original creators of the mythos left the show back in 2020.
Sokka’s Personality In Avatar Live Adaptation Will Be Different Than The Original
Sokka is one of the pivotal characters in the original animated Avatar: The Last Airbender Nickelodeon series. A teenager from the Southern Water Tribe, his resourcefulness and humor make him a fan-favorite character. However, in the initial season, Sokka is immature and impulsive, often making cruel s*xist remarks.
Despite this, fans have shown love to him for the wonderful character arc he undergoes by becoming a thoughtful and capable individual later in the series. Fans have been waiting for years for the live-action adaptation, and while the anticipation builds on as the release date gets nearer, a recent revelation may have just destroyed the series for the fans.
While talking to Entertainment Weekly, cast members Kiawentiio and Ian Ousley, who portray Katara and Sokka respectively, revealed the latter’s personality will be different in the live-action.
“There’s more weight with realism in every way. I feel like we also took out the element of how sexist [Sokka] was. I feel like there were a lot of moments in the original show that were iffy.”
Stated Ousley, while revealing there are other things as well that were redirected, clearly hinting that the show might be a bit too different than the beloved animated original. This revelation has made fans angry and allege that it must be why the original creators left the Netflix show.
Fans Think Original Avatar Creators Left Netflix Due To Sokka’s Personality Change
Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the highest-rated animated TV series on Nickelodeon (via IMDb). Receiving extreme praise and acclaim, it has thus expanded into a huge franchise inspiring books, video games, comics, and other media.
In talks with Netflix for developing a live-action series of the same name, both DiMartino and Konietzko revealed in 2020 that they were departing from the show due to ‘creative differences’ (see DiMartino’s statement and Konietzko’s statement). And now after the revelation that the live-action show and Sakkos’s personality will be different than the original series, fans allege it must be why both creators left the Netflix show.
Reminder, that the creators of the OG Avatar series left this show due to creative differences….this explains a lot. https://t.co/gNqB5q5A9D
— Chris DeRose #NewDeal4Animation (@ScratchyDerose) January 30, 2024
I now understand why the Avatar creators left the show
— Austin (@AustinPlanet) January 30, 2024
Furthermore, others called out the yet-to-be-released series for changing Sokka’s personality, which was essential to his character arc and the reason why fans liked him in the first place.
I could write a 2 hour long video essay on why Sokka's sexism was important to his character arc, growing and accepting the powerful women in his life was a major plot point for him. From the beginning of meeting the Kiyoshi and to watching his sister become a master bender.
— Solisis Dicax (@BLHUPublishing) January 30, 2024
Ah so getting rid of a major character arc that shows he is growing up.
The cartoon is gonna have better characters then this garbage but we're gonna have people insist this is more grown up cause Zuko says the fuck word
— 🦂Butters-/k/un🦂 (@TheUnaButters) January 30, 2024
it’s literally apart of his character arc that Sokka learns how stupid his sexist views were and begs the Kyoshi Warriors to teach him
this show is gonna suck pic.twitter.com/4HPBIDrX3h
— Mike Carolla (@SJTimes13) January 30, 2024
Sokka is supposed to be a flawed character who grows throughout the series.
I'd say they're being demeaning to viewers by assuming we don't understand the concept of a character flaw, but clearly THEY themselves don't understand what a character flaw is either.
— Brooksie C. Fontaine (@BrooksieCFonta1) January 30, 2024
While the fire rages on and fans continue to call out the show for being ‘stupid’, only time will tell how the live-action series is and how it will fare.
Avatar: The Last Airbender will hit Netflix on February 22. The original can be streamed on Netflix as well.
