Paramount Pictures today (April 3) gave fans got a minor update on Nickelodeon Movies and Avatar Studios’ upcoming animated feature from the
Avatar: The Last Airbender universe during their presentation at
CinemaCon 2025.
Whilst no footage was revealed, Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation president Ramsey Naito revealed that the pic will be officially titled The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender. The project was previously referred to as simply Aang: The Last Airbender.
Although no footage was shown, the presentation
reportedly did unveil the movie's official logo.
Slated for release on January 30, 2026, The Legend of Aang will continue the story begun in the critically acclaimed Nickelodeon animated series (2005), which is set in a world divided into four nations — Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and Air Nomads — where beings called Benders have the power to control their realm’s element. A figure known as the “Avatar” is the only one who can control all four elements.
The series introduced a 12-year-old named Aang, the long-lost Avatar, and the new movie will pick up with the grown-up Aang (now in his early twenties) and his companions some years after the events of the show's finale.
The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender is being directed by series alum Lauren Montgomery (
Superman: Doomsday,
Wonder Woman,
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths) and co-directed by William Mata (
Dora and the Fantastical Creatures), with series creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko executive producing alongside Eric Coleman. The voice cast is led by Eric Nam as Aang, Dave Bautista as an unnamed villain, Dionne Quan as Toph, Jessica Matten as Katara, Román Zaragoza as Sokka and Steven Yeun in a TBA role.
“Family films are an integral part of our strategy here at Paramount,” said Paramount Animation’s president Ramsey Naito.
During the presentation, Paramount's president of domestic distribution, Chris Aronson, joked that "on the heels of Sony releasing four Beatles movies, they're gonna release four Paw Patrol films for each character."
Paramount also presented the audience with a new
Smurfs trailer, in which
ScreenRant notes:
Papa Smurf is DJ’ing a concert with the other Smurfs. Smurfette is dancing. Everyone then looks up where a ship is hovering over their homes. Papa Smurf is abducted by the people in the ship. The other Smurfs, led by Smurfette, try to rescue Papa Smurf, landing them in our world, particularly Paris. They then meet Papa Smurfs brother. “It’s time to show you what a Smurf can do,” says Papa Smurf’s brother. “Never underestimate a Smurf,” says Smurfette. They then confront the evil wizards who took Papa Smurf, dancing with “old moves.” Then Papa Smurf’s brother says, “You don’t see that at CinemaCon.”
Release Date: July 18, 2025.
Directed by Chris Miller.
Based on The Smurfs by Peyo
Produced by Ryan Harris, Rihanna, Laurence “Jay” Brown, & Tyran “Ty-Ty” Smith.
Main Cast: Rihanna, James Corden, Nick Offerman, J. P. Karliak, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Octavia Spencer, Nick Kroll, Hannah Waddingham, Alex Winter, Maya Erskine, Billie Lourd, Xolo Maridueña, Kurt Russell, & John Goodman.
Exclusive Footage Description: CinemaCon 2025 audiences successfully got smurfed by an exclusive look at the new Rihanna-spearheaded animated Smurfs movie. The trailer opens with longtime Smurfs nemesis Gargamel trying to convene with other cohorts, only for his volume to be muted. The Smurfs are partying in Smurf Village to some new Rihanna songs, with Rihanna’s Smurfette taking the stage in the footage. Suddenly, a new sort of flower rises from the ground, sucking the Smurfs into the real world.
The trailer then proceeds to show The Smurfs interacting with live action footage, although there are no nonextra prominent human characters. The plot seems to involve the Smurfs going up against Gargamel and his brother. The animation looks something like the recent Peanuts animated film, with humor that’s more or less based around pop culture references. The film will likely appeal to children more than anything as it looks very similar to the previously released films, albeit with a new art style,
Paramount co-CEO and head of Paramount Pictures, Brian Robbins, acknowledged to a big CinemaCon crowd that it may be an odd time for the company right now, but Par’s slate remains terrific,
Deadline reports.
“In all seriousness, I’m excited to be back at CinemaCon, and incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished at Paramount Pictures in the midst of all the noise going on at our parent company. We have a terrific slate that our team has put together, and I can’t wait to share that with you,” he told theater owners at the annual Las Vegas showcase.
Paramount Global is in the midst of a complicated merger with Skydance that’s taking longer than anticipated. It’s likely to get done but is now in regulatory limbo amid the Trump administration’s harsh stance on the media, seconded by his FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr.
“We do live in complicated times,” noted domestic distribution chief Chris Aronson. “But one thing is unwavering — people love movies. And they will never stop loving movies.”
Aronson kicked off Par’s presentation promising to play it straight – but “Well, actually, that’s absolutely…impossible,” he said as black motorcycles with glowing lights and helmeted riders zoomed across the stage to the theme music of Mission Impossible amid buzz over the next Tom Cruise installment.
As Paramount attemps to close its sale to Skydance, Robbins highlighted Paramount’s legacy, which began “over a century ago. World War I was raging. The Summer Olympics were canceled. The Great Flood ravaged communities. And a Hungarian immigrant made a big counterintuitive bet: he believed that when everything was falling apart, people needed a shared experience to bring them together.”
Adolph Zukor dared to dream that he could give us what we wouldn’t even realize we needed until we saw it.”
“Over the years, that company went through many changes, but one name came to define it all: Paramount.
“It isn’t just the lot, the logo, or the legacy; at Paramount the strongest strands of our DNA are still bound together by the theatrical experience.”
He ticked off a handful of films currently in production, led by Motion Picture Group head Mike Ireland including
Children of Blood and Bone, shooting in South Africa;
Heart of the Beast filming in New Zealand starring Brad Pitt and produced under Damien Chazelle and Olivia Hamilton’s Wild Chickens Productions banner; and an original live-action comedy from
South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, with Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free producing. The studio also has a
Sonic the Hedgehog film, on the heels of the super successful third film that pushed the franchise’s box office gross well over the $1 billion mark; and
Scream 7 with the Sidney Prescott, Neve Campbell.
Stream a Mountain of Entertainment, including your Nickelodeon favorites on Paramount+! Try it FREE at ParamountPlus.com!
Originally published: April 03, 2025 at 22:24 BST.
