Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Actor Addresses the Show's Huge Budget

By Megan Peters - March 23, 2022 06:02 pm EDT

In the last few years, Avatar: The Last Airbender has surged back into the headlines, and fans all over the world have rediscovered the show and all its charms. Netflix helped bring this renaissance after Avatar was added back to its catalog, and its success prompted the streaming service to okay a live-action adaptation of the series. And now, a new interview suggests the project will be one of the priciest shows in Hollywood to date.

The update comes from Paul Sun-Hyung Lee after he spoke with Anthony Ruttgaizer on his podcast, Handsome Genius Club. It was there the actor, who plays Iroh in the Netflix series, described Avatar: The Last Airbender as a "hundred million dollar show".

It didn't take long before Avatar News got a hold of the interview, and the site now reports Netflix's live-action series has a budget of at least $120 million USD. In fact, each episode reportedly costs more than $15 million to make, and there will be under ten episodes total for season one.

No firm numbers have been released by Netflix regarding this budget, but fans are impressed by this initial report. If everything checks out, Avatar: The Last Airbender will be one of the most expensive TV shows ever made when all is said and done. Series like The Morning Show, The Mandalorian, and Game of Thrones each budget about $15 million for its episodes. The only titles topping that budget are The Pacific, Amazon's Lord of the Rings, and all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows. But if the pricy gamble pays off, Netflix will have a sure-fire hit on its hands.

What do you think about this latest Avatar: The Last Airbender update? Are you surprised by the budget backing the Netflix original? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

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