Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Exec Teases It Will Be Darker Than Original Series

Avatar: The Last Airbender will be offering a new live-action interpretation of Nickelodeon’s original animated series, and the minds behind Netflix’s new show tease it will offer some darker elements than seen in that original show! Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the most fondly remembered animated releases ever really, and that’s only been more true since the franchise has experienced a revival as more new viewers were able to check it out for the first time on streaming services like Paramount+. And now Netflix is taking the franchise in a whole new direction with a live-action adaptation. 

Netflix’s new Avatar: The Last Airbender is a project that also benefits from the retrospect of seeing how the original animated series worked out. The team behind the Netflix series is fully aware of how much darker of a tone Avatar: The Last Airbender has in its second and third seasons compared to the first wave of episodes, and executive producer and showrunner Albert Kim noted that while their series will be showcasing some darker moments not seen in the original it will fall line with what was seen in the original’s later seasons, “For fans of the second and third season, I think it’s all in line with what they saw there.”

Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Goes Darker

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Kim started mentioning the darker elements by explaining why Avatar: The Last Airbender will be showing the Fire Nation’s attack on the Southern Air Temple that was only eluded to in the original, “It’s a cartoon, it’s meant for kids,” Kim began. “But I felt it was important that we see the event that creates the story of Avatar. The famous line is, ‘Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.’ I wanted to see that.” It’s something Jabbar Raisani, executive producer and visual effects supervisor, noted about this new sequence as well. 

“We just wanted to make sure audiences didn’t think they were getting a kids’ show. We want to ensure that our show is for all ages,” Raisani explained. But this is in line with the darker tone seen in later seasons as Kim asserts, but it seems like this will be showcased much earlier in the story than the original. It’s also something Fire Lord Ozai star, Daniel Dae Kim, noted as well with “The kids who watched the animated version of Avatar are now grown-ups, and so they’re ready for more grown-up fare.” 

So it seems like Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender will be approaching its darker stories much earlier than seen in the original animated series, but how do you feel about these teased changes to make it darker overall? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on X (formerly known as Twitter)!

HT – EW