Image: Netflix
Netflix has shared a first look at Fire Lord Ozai, Princess Azula, Prince Zuko and General Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Netflix has shared first-look images from its upcoming live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The streamer released a series of photos depicting iconic Fire Nation characters, such as Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim), General Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), Commander Zhao (Ken Leung), Princess Azula (Elizabeth Yu) and Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu).
The Fire Nation attacks
General Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee)
For those unfamiliar, the Fire Nation is one of four elemental nations that exist in the world of The Last Airbender. The original series begins long after a war waged by the Fire Nation ravages the rest of the world, with its reigning leader Fire Lord Ozai intent on expanding his rule far and wide. Much like the animated series, Netflix’s adaptation will follow the long-missing Avatar Aang and his two newfound friends from the Water Tribe, Sokka and Katara, as they try to end the war.
Commander Zhao (Ken Leung)
From these images alone, Netflix seems to be going for a One Piece-like level of authenticity with its casting and costuming. Fire Lord Ozai looks picture-perfect surrounded by fire here (as seen in the top image of this article), and General Iroh already looks poised to be the sweet father figure to Prince Zuko that, at this point, he’s not quite ready for. Princess Azula’s armour is a little different here compared to the animated series, but she already looks like she’s going to be a thorn in Zuko’s side. Poor kid.
Who’s running this show?
Princess Azula (Elizabeth Yu)
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation began development in 2019, with original series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko returning as executive producers and showrunners. However, the duo left the series in 2020, citing creative differences with Netflix and a, “negative and unsupporting,” work environment while working with the streamer.
Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu)
Albert Kim (Sleepy Hollow, Nikita) then came aboard the series as showrunner and executive producer, writing the first and last episodes of its eight-episode first season. While the departure of Avatar’s original creators might be a blow to fans hoping for quality out of this adaptation, here’s a small comfort: DiMartino and Konietzko are both working on an animated movie that will continue the story of Aang and his friends when it debuts in 2025.
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender will premiere in 2024. We’ll get more previews for the series and other Netflix projects during Netflix’s Geeked Week event, which runs from November 6 to 12.
