From the ashes of war, the Fire Nation seeks to conquer the lands of Air, Earth and Water. Only the Avatar, one who wields all four elements, can stop them and restore balance to the world.
In Netflix’s second trailer to the highly anticipated, if a bit controversial, live-action “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” fans were treated to stunning visuals that did not disappoint.
The show is a retelling of the beloved television series of the same name that ran from 2005 to 2008.
This is a story set in a world in which people, known as benders, can manipulate one of the four elements – air, water, earth and fire – using different forms of martial arts. Each element has its own nation and people, mostly inspired by Asian philosophy and culture.
The main driving plot of the series is that the Fire Nation, the homeland of fire bending, decided to take control of the other countries. In attempting to overthrow the other countries the Fire Nation upset the balance of the world.
In the first season of the series, we discovered the Avatar has been missing for over 100 years and the Fire Nation has nearly won in conquering the other lands. However, new hope is given when two siblings, Katara and Sokka, discover the Avatar, Aang, frozen in an iceberg.
From the look of the trailer and the information that has been given, it appears Season 1 of this adaptation will be faithful to the source materials and follow “Book One: Water,” the same as Season 1 in the cartoon.
Seeing the trailer made me tear up a bit as I have many memories associated with the original show growing up, in my early teenage years.
I remember having a rough patch in my teens, dealing with a lot, and watching The Last Airbender was cathartic. I loved the art and lore of the series so much I even wrote fan fiction; mostly I wrote about me and Prince Zuko. I loved him growing up and always related a lot to Zuko’s traumatic upbringing.
Another interesting thing about the trailer was the look of the different elemental bending. The special effects looked dazzling as they seamlessly blended the choreographed fighting styles and elements.
Also, a great standout was the portrayal of several key characters from the show whose costumes and appearance looked stunning and almost exactly like the original show.
These included: bounty hunter June (Arden Cho), Princess Azula (Elizabeth Yu), leader of the Kyoshi Warriors Suki (Maria Zhang), and Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim).
Kim in particular seems to have been very well received by fans, and Netflix has already shared the thirst tweets. It’s no wonder as Kim has a stunning jawline and abs for days, his portrayal of Ozai is right on point and steaming hot.
Besides the characters themselves, the set pieces, such as Fire Nation ships and the settings of the show, like Omashu, home of King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar), and the North Pole, home of the Northern Water Tribe, are very well done. Visually, the settings seemed like “Game of Thrones”- or “Lord of the Rings”-style grandeur.
“Avatar: The Last Airbender” is set to drop on Netflix on Feb. 22, 2024, and will consist of eight episodes.
