Netflix is in a spot of trouble after reports about Avatar: The Last Airbender went live late last week. It was announced that the show’s creators were exiting the live-action adaptation over some concerning creative differences. As you can imagine, fans did not take kindly to the big reveal which led the fandom to protest the live-action plans. Now, one of the show’s stars has weighed in on the issue, and it seems not even Uncle Iroh has faith in what’s going on.
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The ordeal came to light after voice actor Greg Baldwin tweeted the open letter written to Avatar fans. The note, which was penned by the co-creators of the series, carefully pinned blame on Netflix for their exit. Both Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko said the site failed to uphold its promise to see out their creative vision, and Iroh’s voice actor seems to be siding against Netflix.
“Wow! Just… wow,” the actor shared before adding, “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.”
After Baldwin was given enough time to think, the actor came back with a dig at the situation. It was there the actor said nothing can upset one’s creativity like studio executives.
“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 sh-t,” he said.
At this point, there is no word on what creative differences led the creators of Avatar to exit the adaptation. The pair made it clear their vision wouldn’t be represented in whatever Netflix’s final product is. Shortly after their leave was announced, the studio stood by its current creative team and said it has faith in their vision for Aang’s next live-action adventure.
What do you make of Baldwin’s provocative jab? Do you think Netflix should continue to pursue the live-action adaptation given its creators’ exit? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
