Netflix Claims Live-Action Avatar Will be “More Serialized”
Speaking with SFX magazine, showrunner Albert Kim discussed Netflix’s upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action remake. Notably, he remarked on how the remake will differ from the beloved animated series. He clarifies that his series will be less of an “adventure of the week” affair. Kim added, “We all knew that there were things we wanted to change, but not just for the sake of change. There had to be a reason for the change.”
“We don’t start the show the way the animated series starts,” Kim stated. “That was a conscious decision to show people this is not the animated series. We had to sometimes unravel storylines and remix them in a new way to make sense for a serialized drama. So I’m very curious to see what’ll happen in terms of reaction to that.”
I have to be candid and say that this headline immediately made me angry. For one thing, almost every piece of news about this show frustrates me because I don’t like that they’re doing it. Bending wasn’t intended to look good in live-action, and I doubt the actors can achieve the same fluidity and synchronicity as the animators. The characters are also very tied to their voice actors for me, and most importantly, this is my favorite show. I just can’t fathom them improving or adding anything of significance to it.
Getting back to this specific topic, Avatar is one of the most serialized cartoons I’ve ever seen. There is some filler in Book 1: Water and a couple later on, notably Book 2: Earth, episode 15, “The Tales Of Ba Sing Se.” I’d like to point out that “Tales” is one of the most cherished and oft-referenced episodes of the show. Despite being what some would call “filler,” this episode manages to delve into almost every major character and provide one of the show’s most touching moments. I find the suggestion of “less filler” offensive because there already wasn’t much, and what was there served to develop characters and relationships. Except for “The Great Divide;” we can all agree to forget about that. I don’t care about this show beginning differently or “remixing elements,” whatever that means. I don’t think it should exist, and assertions such as this indicate that Netflix and the producers have no idea what they’re doing. Shocking.
