It seems odd to think that this time last week everyone was excited for news about how Netflix’s live action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender was progressing. Now the only thing people are expecting is news of how badly it’s going to go. The latest to add to the assumption of disappointment is Greg Baldwin, Iroh’s voice actor.
The downturn in expectations stems from the surprise departure from the production of Avatar’s original creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, citing “creative differences” of Netflix failing to uphold its promise to allow the pair the necessary freedom required to bring their vision to life in a new medium. In reaction, Baldwin posted a short series of tweets expressing his immediate thoughts on the situation.
Wow. Just…wow!
— Greg Baldwin (@GregBaldwinIroh) August 12, 2020
Seriously…I'm gonna have to ruminate on this.
I don't know if I trust Netflix to create a decent adaptation of ATLA without the creative vision and input of its creators.
— Greg Baldwin (@GregBaldwinIroh) August 12, 2020
I worked at studios for many years. Once the "suits" weigh in on a project and start pissing on it to justify their jobs…
Everything goes to shit.
— Greg Baldwin (@GregBaldwinIroh) August 12, 2020
Baldwin is right in that few good things come from executive meddling in productions, more often than not leading to the shows and films in question ending up as joyless dilutions of what the creatives originally intended, and those responsible wondering what could possibly have gone wrong. Times when it has resulted in something positive are rare, with one prominent example being the creation of Inara in Firefly after Fox mandated the inclusion of “space hookers.”
Nothing official has come to light regarding the specifics of why DiMartino and Konietzko chose to leave, although some details purported to have come from Netflix insiders don’t paint the situation in a positive light, and if they are in any way accurate, don’t bode well for the project’s future.
The passion held for Avatar: The Last Airbender by fans both new and old is fierce and enduring, and many people can’t see how a new version of it could possibly be shepherded into existence without input from the creative minds originally behind it. It would be nice to hope that it can still result in something decent, but the number of people realistically hoping for such an outcome will surely continue to dwindle.
Published: Aug 17, 2020 10:07 am