Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Trailer Has Fans Hopeful It'll Live Up to the Original
Netflix may have another massive animated-to-live-action-adaption hit on its hands.
The reaction to the latest trailer for the streaming titan’s upcoming “Avatar: The Last Airbender” series released on Tuesday says that many fans are already all-in.
On Netflix’s YouTube account alone, the trailer has garnered a whopping 4 million views as of Friday. On the streamer’s X account, the trailer has an even more astounding 14 million views.
The original Nickelodeon series, running from 2005 to 2008, was a critical and commercial success from the start. The series finale brought in a staggering 5.6 million viewers in 2008, boosting the network’s viewership by 195 percent over the same period the previous year.
Suffice it to say, the series is loved by many.
That said, the previous attempt to adapt the show to live-action didn’t end so well. M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” was a massive critical failure.
However, given Netflix’s recent track record when it comes to such adaptions, fans have reason to be hopeful.
The 2023 Netflix series “One Piece,” an adaption of the incredibly popular manga and anime franchise, was a roaring success.
According to The Western Journal’s David Zimmermann, Netflix’s “One Piece” is “a fantastic show that prioritizes storytelling over propaganda and satisfying character arcs over uninspired acting performances. And it’s all because the series is written superbly well.”
The show quickly climbed to the number two slot of Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings, garnering 1.39 billion minutes watched domestically from Sept. 4 to Sept. 10.
Will that success carry on over to “Avatar: The Last Airbender”? Only time will tell the answer to that question.
Based on the fan response to the trailer alone, however, it’s a safe bet to say that, at the very least, the show’s opening episode will garner an incredible number of views.
The trailer gives fans a good look at the film’s new cast, every member of which appears to honor the spirit of their character’s animated counterparts.
This includes Gardon Cormier as the youthful Avatar Aang, Dallas Liu as the formidable and conflicted anti-hero Prince Zuko, Kiawentiio as the optimistic waterbender Katara, Ian Ousley as the comic-relief Sokka, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as the wise General Iroh and Daniel Dae Kim as series antagonist Fire Lord Ozai.
A likely question on many minds going into the adaption is how the bending will look.
After all, it’s one thing using animation to show fantastical powers mixed with Eastern fighting styles. It’s quite another to do so with CGI on a television show budget.
That said, the few glimpses of action shown in the trailer prove promising.
Overall, it looks like the marketing team behind this latest sneak peek succeeded at building some hype for the Netflix series.
Sokka is sarcastic
Katara is beautiful
Aang is amazing
Jet is great
Iroh is iroh
The bending is sick
I can finally die now— Nicholson NCS (@NicholsonNCS) January 23, 2024
“I can finally die now,” one X user wrote.
IT LOOKS SO GOOD!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
— ENKSGAMING (@EnksGaming) January 23, 2024
“IT LOOKS SO GOOD!!!!” another commented.
Every character is instantly recognizable even though they’re not a cartoon anymore. That gives me a good feeling.
— B. Wayne vi Britannia (@Riotdetective) January 23, 2024
“Every character is instantly recognizable even though they’re not a cartoon anymore. That gives me a good feeling,” another fan wrote.
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