Avatar The Last Airbender Debuts New Look at Kyoshi’s Earthbending Mentor

Avatar The Last Airbender fans are set to have a good year in 2025, as Avatar Studios has announced its first film bringing back Aang and the gang will arrive that fall. While footage and/or intricate details regarding the movie’s plot are still anyone’s guess, the franchise is revealing new designs for characters that have yet to make their animated debut. Now, to help add characters to the mobile RPG game, Avatar Generations, the Earth Bender who mentored the previous Avatar, Kyoshi, has been given an official design from the studio.

For those who might not know this Earth Bender, Jianzhu was an important teacher to Kyoshi, the Avatar that took a much darker approach to dealing with her enemies than either Aang or Korra. While we had the opportunity to see Kyoshi a handful of times in the original animated series, her story was expanded upon thanks to the two novels dedicated to her life in The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi. While Kyoshi hasn’t been confirmed for future animated films, many fans of the original series wouldn’t mind seeing the previous Avatar return thanks to Avatar Studios’ future projects.

Kyoshi’s Earth Bending Master, Jianzhu

Jianzhu made for a worthy teacher to Kyoshi, though he was never able to quite hit the same heights as Aang’s predominant earth-bending teacher in Toph. Using her mastery over the earth to help in amplifying her own senses, Toph would eventually learn how to bend metal and made several appearances as an older bender in The Legend of Korra. Thanks to Avatar Generations, we can spot what Jianzhu might have looked like had he debuted in the original series.

Avatar Studios isn’t the only venue that will bring back the bending universe as Netflix is still working on the live-action Avatar The Last Airbender. Retelling the story of Aang, the streaming service has yet to release any footage from the re-imagining and/or a release date for the adaptation. With Netflix also working on live-action adaptations for Yu Yu Hakusho and One Piece, Aang and his crew might be in good company. 

Do you want to see future animated projects focused on Kyoshi’s life? Who is your favorite bender to date? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of bending.