“Avatar” fans are living pretty good right now, from the release of the live-action show to the recently announced “Avatar: Seven Havens.” “Avatar” fans were hit with multiple announcements in February at “Avatar’s” 20th anniversary celebration, and they are excited for the next chapter of the series.
“Avatar: The Last Airbender” first aired in 2005, following the story of Aang, a young Airbender, and his quest to become the Avatar. “The Last Airbender” quickly became one of the highest-rated animated television shows of all time, thanks to its phenomenal writing and animation.
The show was recognized for its appeal to child and adult audiences alike and earned heavy praise from critics, scoring a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Bryan Fernandes, an early college junior, dubbed “The Last Airbender” as “one of the best shows I’ve seen.” Critics have spoken similar praises throughout the industry.
However, in 2010, “The Last Airbender” was adapted by esteemed director M. Night Shyamalan into a live-action film for the first time. There was much excitement among fans for the release, however, the result was catastrophic.
Many blame Shyamalan for the flop of the movie, however, Tom Keogh of the Seattle Times says, “the sprawling story is so dramatically compressed there is barely enough oxygen for relationship growth.” Keogh points out that cramming the “Avatar” story in less than two hours can’t work, and a different approach has to be taken if there is to be a future adaptation.
Two years later, “The Last Airbender’s” sequel, “The Legend of Korra,” caused quite a stir, leaving many fans underwhelmed yet again.
“The Legend of Korra” takes place 70 years after the original story, this time focusing on a female waterbender trying to navigate her role as the next Avatar. Fernandes notes that the writing wasn’t quite the same as the original. Stephen Holland, a Screen Rant writer, expressed a similar feeling, citing that the plot lacked strong supporting characters, a strong central narrative, and at times became overly political.
Again in 2024, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” would be translated from cartoon to live action. This time, it would be a series produced by Netflix.
The TV series format seemed to solve one of the biggest problems with the initial live-action film: the lack of time for character development. While viewers were much more receptive to the series, it still wasn’t the same hit as the original animated show. Critics rated it a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes, much better than the 5% that the movie was given, but still a far cry from the perfect score given to the original “Last Airbender.”
The consistent struggles in the “Avatar” sequels and remakes are a major cause for concern with the upcoming “Avatar: Seven Havens.” However, the most recent announcement by Nickelodeon has revealed an interesting twist to the “Avatar” story.
It seems the team has opted for a “restart” in a way. The world is in destruction, and it is a result of Korra’s actions as an Avatar. The people now see the Avatar as a destroyer rather than a hero. The main protagonist of “Seven Havens” will be a female Earthbender who must work to both save civilization from collapse and redefine what it means to be the Avatar.
Fans are excited for this new spin on the series and hope that it will live up to expectations. Fernades has “high hopes” that the season will have better writing than “The Legend of Korra,” and believes that “Seven Havens” could reignite “Avatar” fans if done well.
“Seven Havens” will be made by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the same creators of “The Legend of Korra” and “The Last Airbender.” So far, the series is set to have two seasons, each with 13 episodes. While there is no set release date for the “Seven Havens” yet, fans can expect to see a fully animated movie following adult Aang, which is set to release Jan. 30, 2026.
