Avatar: The Last Airbender is now in the works on Season 2 of the live-action series for Netflix, and the star behind Toph Beifong is teasing some of the changes she’ll be bringing to the animated series’ version of the character. Avatar: The Last Airbender made its debut some time ago, and was such a hit with Netflix that it was quickly confirmed that the live-action series would not only make its comeback with a second season but a third as well. This means that the live-action series will be able to adapt the entire animated original before it all comes to an end.
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Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 has yet to announce a release date or window for Netflix as of the time of this publication, but it will be adapting the the Book 2: Earth’s events from the original series. This means fans will be fully introduced to Toph as a new member of Aang’s core group along with many more members of the Earth Kingdom, and star Miya Cech spoke to The Direct about some of the changes that she’ll be making to the character in the new season that is “a little older and slightly more feminine.“
Toph’s Changes for Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2
Cech will be joining the cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender with Season 2 of the Netflix live-action series, and the star teased The Direct about some changes coming to her character compared to the animated original, “My version of Toph is going to be a little older and slightly more feminine. I feel like I wanted to work into a very humanizing space for her because, you know, she was a cartoon.” It’s not a dramatically different take on Toph than fans might have seen in the original series, but these changes bring up some key ideas about what was seen in that original incarnation.
Toph very notable dealt with her seeming lack of femininity in the original Avatar: The Last Airbender series, and ultimately decided that she was proud of who she was. By the time the end of the series rolled around, she was even happy to be represented by a muscular adult man when compared to the rest of Aang’s group. This lack of femininity and positive outlook in the face of it was a core tenet of her original character, but it seems like the live-action version will be going in an almost opposite direction by the sounds of this tease.
Is This Going to Be a Problem?
This is going to be a much different interpretation of Toph’s character, but likely won’t be too much of a shake up when combined with the rest of the adaptation. The first season of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender made many other changes to its take on the original animated series, but nothing that seemed to completely void its own take on the world. While it might not be a direct 1:1 take on these fan favorite characters, there is an audience who will appreciate where this new interpretation of these characters can go.
As for when Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 will hit Netflix, Cech also teased that a 2026 release window is likely for the live-action series. It’s yet to be officially announced whether or not the new season will hit in that time, but it’s also not looking likely that it will hit any time this year. But when it does premiere, fans will be getting a different kind of Toph that Aang and the others will meet and travel around with. It’s just a matter of seeing how different she’ll be.
