Paramount’s movie slate for the upcoming year included the earlier announced film from Avatar: The Last Airbender animated universe. With the working title of Aang: The Last Airbender, the film’s voice cast will be led by Dave Bautista and Eric Nam. Nam is set to play the titular role of Aang, meaning that Zach Tyler Eisen will not be returning to his iconic voice role. While it came as no surprise, fans are largely disappointed over the recasting of Aang in the new animated movie.
Only one actor from the original Avatar cast was retained in this project, which comes after nearly two decades since the Nickelodeon series dropped. Dante Basco will continue to voice Zuko in the film. Interestingly, the other voice cast members of the movie include Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten, and Roman Zaragoza.
Fans Furious Over Lead Actor Not Returning To Avatar: The Last Airbender Movie
Paramount announced plans for Avatar: The Last Airbender during CinemaCon 2024 and fans are divided on some of the creative decisions (via Variety). The original series that ran on Nickelodeon for three seasons was a legacy show that created loyal fandoms. However, these fans were disappointed to learn that their favorite characters would not be voiced by the same cast from the old series.
The film made the creative decision to let go of all but one cast member from the 2005 animated series. Dante Basco, who played Zuko, was perhaps the only proper non-white cast member of the original series. However, those close to the film are claiming that most of the original voice cast changed from teens to adults in the intervening period.
Fans on X were particularly bummed about Eric Nam replacing Zach Tyler Eisen. Eisen immortalized the voice of the vibrant Aang in the series. One fan mentioned that the studio is committing a mistake by recasting such an iconic voice. Another fan also agreed, sharing that it was lame to recast Aang.
Fans also shared how they missed Mae Whitman and Jack De Sena, who voiced the roles of Katara and Sokka. They also questioned the studio’s intention to only return Basco to his original role. Some fan reactions read:
Dante Basco will return to voice Zuko in the upcoming 2025 ‘AANG: THE LAST AIRBENDER’ film.
He is the only cast member of the GAANG from the original series who will reprise their role. pic.twitter.com/j66XV4gUoo
— Discuss Avatar (@DiscussAvatar) April 11, 2024
Let's go! You can't replace a voice like that too iconic.
— Eddie (@OHMYDIAZ) April 11, 2024
That’s so lame. Aangs original voice actor shoulda came back to play an older Aang
— charlie (@SsbCharlie) April 11, 2024
I don’t get why he’s the only one that got brought back.
— Av (@MarioEmmet) April 11, 2024
He really was perfect as Zuko and I’m glad people are happy he’s returning, but the fact that it seems they only kept him around because he was like the only non-white person in the main Gaang is getting scary ngl. Still excited but idk it’s rubbing me the wrong way.
— random ✝️ (@Boneta07) April 11, 2024
I'm super excited that Dante is coming back, Zuko doesn't feel like Zuko without him. But what about Zack and Mae?? I love their voice acting for Sokka and Katata 😭
— Sarah ⎊ 🇵🇸 (@sarahstargalaxi) April 11, 2024
According to reports, Dave Bautista will voice a central villain character to Nam’s Aang. The animated film also got a potential release date from the studio, October 10th, 2025.
Why Is Zach Tyler Eisen Not Returning As Aang?
While Zach Tyler Eisen was a phenomenal voice actor, he has long left the acting life behind. He retired from acting and voice acting to focus more on behind-the-scenes roles. After Avatar: The Last Airbender wrapped up Eisen kept himself hidden from the public. He wanted to pursue the life of a normal teenager after Avatar. He then decided to go to school and get a degree in media and communications.
After years in hiding, Eisen returned to a public platform through an interview on the Ted Jones World podcast. Eisen shared his thoughts on the live-action project on Netflix during this interview. Later, he appeared alongside Dante Basco to rewatch the episode of Sozin’s Comet on a Twitch stream.
While we may see Eisen coming up with a project of his own in the future, it is highly unlikely that he will return for any voice roles, let alone the role of Aang.
Avatar: The Last Airbender animated show is now available for streaming on Netflix.
