The Fire Lord was never that great of a guy in the original Avatar: The Last Airbender series on Nickelodeon but the live-action adaptation from Netflix has explored Ozai’s character that much more. Played by prolific actor Daniel Dae Kim, Ozai demonstrated his ruthless attitude with his children along with those who dared to stop the Fire Nation’s global dominating advance. In a new interview, Kim took the opportunity to discuss his excitement for reveling in his character’s evil side when seasons two and three arrive on the streaming service.
Daniel Dae Kim might not be like the Fire Lord in real life, but he pulled a trick on his castmates recently that would honor Ozai. Kim took the opportunity to reveal that Netflix had confirmed Avatar: The Last Airbender for two additional seasons to finish Aang and friends’ story. Daniel dropped a bombshell on his fellow cast members that Netflix had not picked up the live-action adaptation for another season, leaving the likes of Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Dallas Liu, Elizabeth Yu, and Ian Ousley to believe that the series was canceled. Luckily, frowns turned to smiles when Kim revealed that Avatar would get a season two and three.
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Ozai’s Descent Into Madness
In hyping up the Fire Lord’s upcoming return, Kim chatted with GQ Magazine about his desire to explore the madness of the Fire Nation ruler, “A descent into madness sounds like juicy territory for an actor, and it’s not something I’ve explored before on screen. Should we be lucky enough to get a season 2, I look forward to those conversations.”
Daniel Dae Kim also explored how past trauma might have been the cause of Ozai’s current extreme temperament, “I kept thinking, like, what happened to Ozai when he was a child that he would think that this is the way to show your kid his destiny? I did look at his line to succession… the fact that he is a second child, and how that’s not the natural lineage for a king. So what kind of ambition does it take to supersede the rightful heir to the throne? There’s that phrase that I think of – ‘hurt people hurt people’ – and I wonder ‘What was Ozai’s trauma as a child?’ because he’s clearly passing it down.”
What do you think of the decision to explore more of the Fire Nation in the live-action Avatar? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of bending.
