Avatar: The Last Airbender Exec Explains Why Original Cast Was Replaced for New Movie

Avatar: The Last Airbender is now in the works on a brand new feature film coming next year, and one of the big names behind the scenes explained why the original voice cast won’t be returning for their respective roles. Avatar: The Last Airbender has been steadily working on coming to theaters with a brand new entry in the long running saga that will showcase more of Aang’s adult life that was only briefly teased during The Legend of Korra. But while this new film will be bringing back the classic show’s characters, it’s going to have a new cast bringing them to life.

Fans have already gotten the first taste of these changes when it was announced that Eric Nam would be joining The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender film as the now adult aged Aang, and the casting director behind the film opened up about the changes to the voice cast. When asked about why that the original cast from the TV series would not be returning for their roles for the new film in a Reddit AMA, casting director Jenny Jue explained that there was more of an emphasis for the new film to “match actors’ ethnic/racial background to the characters they’re portraying.”

Why Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Voice Cast Changed for New Movie

The full voice cast for The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender has yet to be revealed as of the time of this publication, but the new voice of Aang has sparked the question of why the original voice cast will not be returning to voice their respective characters. Casting director for the film Jenny Jue explained that, “I told Mike and Bryan that I understood how important it was to get this right for them and for the fans~ because I’m a fan too, also my favorite IP!” Elaborating on this further, Jue noted how much time has changed since the original release of the TV series.

“Since the original show was released, there’s been more emphasis in VO to match actors’ ethnic/racial background to the characters they’re portraying,” Jue continued. “ATLA is a fictional world, but there are cultural influences for each nation/kingdom, and we wanted to explore the talent from those groups.” In terms of what Jue could tease about the movie itself, the casting director hopes fans will keep an open mind with the new voice cast, “I can’t say much more about it the film, except that I’m really proud of this cast and I hope the other fans keep an open mind to this new iteration of our beloved characters!”

RELATED: Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Strangest Multiverse Returns This Summer

What to Know for The Legend of Aang

As far as what has been confirmed for the new feature film so far, The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender is currently scheduled for a release in theaters on January 30th, 2026. Produced by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, the new film will be overseen by original series creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko as part of Avatar Studios. It’s yet to be revealed what kind of story this new film will be tackling, but it will be taking place some time in between the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender and its The Legend of Korra sequel.

As for the currently confirmed voice cast for the film itself, The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender stars the likes of Eric Nam, Steven Yeun, Dave Bautista, Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten and Román Zaragoza. Their roles in the film have yet to be detailed as of the time of this publication, but it’s likely we’ll get more information soon as it gets ready for its launch early next year.