Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender trailer actually looks amazing

Step aside all news about Stranger Things 5 or the BioShock series, because we’re now only bothered about Avatar: The Last Airbender.

It’s a bold claim to make, especially considering how poorly received the 2010 M. Night Shyamalan film was. As someone who is a die-hard fan of the animated series, I naturally groan when a director decides to do a live-action retelling – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Then I watched Netflix’s trailer for its interpretation of this beloved series and realised I’m not mad at all, I’m actually excited…?

Take a look at the trailer below!

First impressions are good. No, amazing. The trailer looks incredible, with each of the actors seemingly well-suited to their roles; Ian Ousley as Sokka looks particularly reminiscent of the Nickelodeon show. Not that they need to look identical to what’s gone before – we saw that with the success of the live-action The Little Mermaid, with Halle Bailey stealing the show.

That being said, while the trailer holds much promise, it doesn’t reveal too much, though I suspect the Netflix series will follow the events of the first season of the animation. That assumption seems accurate if you read Netflix’s synopsis: “Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Aang, the young Avatar, as he learns to master the four elements (Water, Earth, Fire, and Air) to restore balance to a world threatened by the terrifying Fire Nation”. Pretty much like Nickelodeon’s first season, then.

After the success of Netflix’s One Piece, there’s an air of positivity surrounding anime adaptations, chiefly that they’re not cursed to be cancelled before we’re ready to say goodbye. However, with the success of that show also comes even greater pressure, as fans demand their favourite anime feel the justice of a solid adaptation. And having seen The Witcher fall from grace during season three, as well as the added pain of Henry Cavill leaving, ATLA is on shaky ground regardless of its trailer.

Until its 22 February 2024 release, we all need to collectively keep our fingers crossed that Netflix hasn’t butchered such iconic characters, nor have they done our fluffy friends of Appa and Momo dirty. There will be so much anger if this goes wrong, but for now, the trailer looks amazing, so we can breathe a sigh of relief.