Today, Netflix release the newest full-length trailer for their upcoming live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender and it looks good enough to make us shout yip yip! And maybe even shed a few nostalgic tears.
Based on the Nickelodeon cartoon that aired between 2005 and 2008, this new series stars Gordon Cormier as Aang, the Avatar who has to master the four elements — water, earth, fire, and air — to rebalance the world and save it from the Fire Nation.
“Alongside his newfound friends Sokka (Ian Ousely) and Katara (Kiawentiio), siblings and members of the Southern Water Tribe, Aang embarks on a fantastical, action-packed quest to save the world and fight back against the fearsome onslaught of Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim),” the official synopsis reads. “But with a driven Crown Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) determined to capture them, it won’t be an easy task.”
After M. Night Shyamalan’s abysmal live-action movie adaptation, we had very little hope for another director’s take on the beloved source material, but this trailer has us excited again!
All eight hour-long episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender's first season will premiere on Netflix on Feb. 22.
In the original cartoon series, Aang’s first real friends are his Water Tribe buddies Katara and Sokka. It’s exciting to see them riding through the air on Appa’s back together, fighting side by side, and teasing each other, just like we remember from the OG version.
Appa is Aang’s loyal sky bison who flies our heroes from adventure to adventure as they try to balance the world and protect everyone from the Fire Nation. Appa was so adorable in cartoon form that we were worried it wouldn’t translate into CGI —we were wrong! He’s just as cute, fluffy, and expressive as his animated counterpart.
As Aang tries to save the world from the Fire Nation, he goes through heartache that only his friends and his loyal pet, Appa, can help him through. In the trailer, we see him welling up and hugging Apa, completely overwhelmed by emotion.
Action scenes where characters are hurling elements like fire and water at each other have the potential to look silly, but the trailer makes the fight choreography look dynamic and exciting.
Between the elemental fighting and the hybridized animals, so much could have gone wrong with the CGI, but the trailer looks great and gives us hope that this version of The Last Airbender won’t repeat the sins of the past.
Avatar the Last Airbender premieres February 22 on Netflix. Watch the full trailer below.
