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The creator of Netflix’s upcoming showAvatar: The Last Airbenderis getting candid about why he stayed away from M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action adaptation of the beloved cartoon. The series is set to premiere on the streamer on August 14, 2025, with the story focusing on the young Avatar, Aang, as he seeks to master the elements of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. However, this isn’t the first attempt at a live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon show.
In 2010, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan also released a movie titledThe Last Airbender.The movie, however, did not turn out to be the best of his work. And the creator of the Netflix show has shared that he deliberately refrained from watching Shyamalan’s adaptation.
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Avatar: The Last AirbenderCreator Did Not Watch M. Night Shyamalan’s Adaptation
The creator of the upcoming Netflix showAvatar: The Last Airbender,Albert Kim, has recently shared that he has not seen the 2010 adaptation of the Nickelodeon show, directed by the renowned filmmakerM. Night Shyamalan.
“I’ll tell you something, I never watched the Shyamalan movie,”he toldEntertainment Weeklyin a recent interview. He shared that the thought of watching the film crossed his mind at one point, but he decided not to as he did not want the movie to influence the upcoming series in any way. He said,
“There was a period of time where I thought I should watch it, but then I thought, I don’t really want those images in my head as I start to go forward with our version of this project. So I avoided it purposefully.”
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M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action adaptation was heavily panned by the audience and critics for its casting and visual effects. Albert Kim shared that he was aware of the criticism and the things fans did not like in the adaptation and tried his best to avoid similar issues.
Albert Kim on Embracing the Challenge of theAvatarAdaptation
During his conversation withEntertainment Weekly, Abert Kim also shared insight into the challenging task of working on the live-action adaptation of a show that is already beloved by millions of fans. Expressing his excitement and anxiety about working on the show, he said,
“You’d have to be an idiot not to be intimidated a little bit. My first reaction after ‘Hell yeah!’ was ‘Holy s—! Do I really want to do this? Is there a way to improve upon the original?”
Read More:“None of this matters until…”: Avatar: The Last Airbender Fans are Pissed One Major Character Wasn’t in Netflix Trailer
While it was challenging, he also revealed a strong motivation as the adaptation allowed him to set“new benchmarks for representation.”One of the huge criticisms of Shyamalan’s adaptation was the casting of white actors in Asian or indigenous roles. Kim’s commitment to diverse casting aligns with the show’s aim to set new standards for inclusivity in the entertainment industry.
Avatar: The Last Airbenderis set to premiere on the streamer on June 30, 2025
Laxmi Rajput
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3449
Laxmi Rajput is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, with over 3,300 articles published covering film, TV, and pop culture. With a degree in Broadcast Journalism and over three years of experience in content writing, she pivoted to entertainment journalism because let’s be honest, superheroes, sitcoms, and Netflix binges are way more fun. Laxmi frequently covers Marvel, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and popular TV shows, offering both fan-first enthusiasm and thoughtful analysis. Her work often dives into Marvel theories, revisits the genius of The Big Bang Theory, or unpacks the Netflix phenomenon of Stranger Things.
