Dev Patel recently revealed he’d spent the last decade of his career actively avoiding blockbusters after starring in M. Night Shyamalan’s dismal live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but Netflix will be hoping to fare much better with their upcoming effort, even if the fans already voiced their hesitation over the streaming giant tackling such a beloved property.
It was just a few days ago that a rumored cast list was reportedly leaked, and now it turns out that the information was right on the money after Netflix unveiled the principal players. Gordon Cormier will lead Avatar: The Last Airbender as Aang, with support coming from Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, and Dallas Liu as Zuko.
Several key crew members have also been revealed, with Sleepy Hollow alum Albert Kim set to write the project and act as showrunner. Additionally, Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore and Michael Goi will serve as executive producers alongside Roseanne Liang, while Jabar Raisani, Goi and Liang will direct at least a couple of episodes apiece.
Such a major announcement would lead us to believe that pre-production is ramping up nicely, and with the main roles now filled, it’s just a case of drip feeding the talent to fill the rest of what will no doubt be a sprawling ensemble cast, and announcing a start date for production.
Any further details about plot and story point, episode counts or a potential premiere date are likely much further down the line, but Avatar: The Last Airbender fans can start overcoming their anxieties and crossing their fingers that Netflix have what it takes to do the original justice in the big budget live-action realm.