Nickelodeon released news on Feb. 24 that the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise is expanding. The beloved shows Avatar: The Last Airbender and its follow-up show The Legend of Korra will be forming into Avatar Studios along with some exciting new additions. This will be done with the help of the creators of the original show, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Avatar: The Last Airbender aired from 2005 to 2008, and The Legend of Korra aired from 2012 to 2014. It has been years since both shows have released new content, but their fan base has not faded. As the years have gone on, the two shows have grown immensely in popularity, and Nickelodeon has taken notice. The president, Brian Robbins, said, “Avatar: The Last Airbender and Korra have grown at least ten-fold in popularity since their original hit runs on Nickelodeon, and Ramsey Naito and I are incredibly excited to have Mike and Bryan’s genius talent on board to helm a studio devoted to expanding their characters and world into new content and formats for fans everywhere.”
This isn’t the first time an attempt has been made to extend the franchise. In 2010 under the director M. Night Shyamalan, the movie The Last Airbender was released. This movie follows the general storyline of the animated show, but fans did not respond well to the movie. With an overall budget of roughly $150,000,000, the movie grossed only $131,772,187 domestically and has received an overall 5 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. It is safe to say the live-action movie was not a success. However, another attempt was made in creating a live-action version of the beloved show. Back in 2018, Netflix originally announced that they were in the works of producing a live-action version of the show Avatar: The Last Airbender. The original creators of the show, DiMartino and Konietzko, were working on the project as well. Ultimately in 2020, the two decided to part ways with Netflix. DiMartino later commented on the matter, saying, “I try to be like an Air Nomad and adapt. I do my best to go with the flow, no matter what obstacle is put in my way. But even an Air Nomad knows when it’s time to cut their losses and move on.” It is believed that the project will remain in the works and will be released on Netflix, completely independent of Avatar Studios.
There is much to look forward to in the future. While most details are vague, Avatar Studios will be expanding their animated shows. They will also be expanding from just animated shows and into movies too. There will be plenty of places to view all of this new content. The studio will be releasing content to be viewed on Paramount, Nickelodeon, other independent platforms and of course, in theaters. The movie production is said to begin as early as this year. This is just the beginning too. We will get more details as time goes on. But for now, thanks to DiMartino, Konietzko and Nickelodeon, there is much to look forward to!
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Youtube and Pinterest!