For those in love with it, Avatar: The Last Airbender is sacred visual artistry. During its original run on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008, the show redefined what was possible with animation and storytelling. It also created a whole world with unforgettable characters, and the buzz around upcoming live-action adaptation on Netflix is a testament to that. We also now know just how much Netflix spent on the epic show.
The show was announced in 2018 and started production in late 2021. It debuts this month, and fans of the show (myself included) are cautiously optimistic about it. The caution has good reason: In 2010, acclaimed director M. Night Shyamalan released a travesty of a film that threatened the very life of the franchise.
That was then. Now, in the streaming age, with the recent success of One Piece, it feels like the perfect time for Ang to make his return and overthrow the Fire Kingdom. The show will feature 8 episodes, although we don’t know if that will be one season or not.
The show is one of Netflix’s more expensive ordeals. It’s budgeted at $120 million, with each episode costing an estimated $15 million. Interestingly, the budget for One Piece was actually higher, with each episode costing an estimated $18 million, for a total budget of $144 million.
This budget for Avatar, by the way, is right up there with The Crown ($13 million per episode) and The Sandman ($15 million per episode). The most expensive show Netflix has ever produced? Its flagship series Stranger Things, which costs about $30 million per episode in its latest season.
Those numbers dwarf even The Mandalorian over on Disney Plus or Game of Thrones on HBO.
Avatar stars Gordon Cormier as Aang, the “Last Airbender.” It also stars Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Zuko, Elizabeth Yu as Azula, Kiawentiio Tarbell as Katara and Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai. So what are critics saying about the show?
Mike Thomas from Collider said he watched the first episode and it “is fantastic,” adding that you can immediately tell it’s better than the movie from 2010. He said the action was impressive but it’s the actors that really steal the show.
Joshua Yehl from IGN said the first episode is “incredible” and that it’s “more dramatic, mature and violent than the original.” Not all reviews were are glowing. David Opie said that “there are definitely issues” and that “if you’re open to it, you’ll have fun, but if you’ve already made up your mind, you’ll hate it.”
Avatar: The Last Airbender hits Netflix on February 22.
