Bryan Konietzko, the co-creator of Nickelodeon's beloved Avatar: The Last Airbender series and franchise, recently revealed in a post on his official Tumblr blog, that Netflix are planning to host a open casting call for the streaming services upcoming live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender! As it's still early on in production - the team have only just moved into Netflix’s offices - Bryan couldn't say when to expect the casting call, but he did say it'll likely be sometime later this year!
Don't worry about missing the chance to audition though, Bryan has promised that the team will publicly share the information for how actors will be able to officially apply when the date(s) are set!
Concept art for Netflix's live-action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. Courtesy of John Staub/courtesy of Netflix
In the meantime, Bryan is asking fans to please refrain from tagging, commenting, DMing, etc. your auditions — he doesn't check that stuff and no one else at Netflix does either. He also warns fans that they are not casting via social media, and doesn't want anyone wasting their time and energy, when they can be working on their audition instead. Read Bryan's full message to fans below!:
"TO EVERYONE INTERESTED IN AUDITIONING FOR THE LIVE-ACTION AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER SERIES ON NETFLIX:
We greatly appreciate your interest and enthusiasm, but we are not yet at that stage in the production.
There will be an OPEN CASTING CALL, likely sometime later this year. When that happens, we will publicly share the information for how to *officially* apply.
Until then, please refrain from tagging, commenting, DMing, etc. your auditions — I don’t check that stuff and no one else at Netflix does either. We’re not casting via social media and I don’t want anyone wasting their time and energy. Put it towards working on your audition instead. Good luck!
Thanks, Bryan"
Bryan's post also officially disproves those very early Zuko casting rumors.
It’s good to know they’re going to make auditions public and accessible! Remember, they’re committed to “culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed” casting!
In case you didn't hear the news, Netflix are producing a reimagined live-action series based on the award-winning and beloved Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, from the original creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who will serve as showrunners and executive producers! The new series, in partnership with Nickelodeon, will be exclusively available on Netflix and is slated to start production in 2019.
Avatar: The Last Airbender aired for three seasons originally on Nickelodeon, where it began in February 2005 and concluded in July 2008. The series was nominated for—and won—Annie Awards, Genesis Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Peabody Award. Avatar: The Last Airbender follows the adventures of the main protagonist Aang and his friends, who must save the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai and ending the destructive war with the Fire Nation.
“We’re thrilled for the opportunity to helm this live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We can’t wait to realize Aang’s world as cinematically as we always imagined it to be, and with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build upon everyone’s great work on the original animated series and go even deeper into the characters, story, action, and world-building. Netflix is wholly dedicated to manifesting our vision for this retelling, and we’re incredibly grateful to be partnering with them.” — Bryan Konietzko & Michael DiMartino
“We are committed to honoring Bryan and Mike’s vision for this retelling and are thrilled to support them on creating a live-action event series, bringing Aang’s epic world of elemental magic to life for global audiences on Netflix,” Melissa Cobb, vice-president of Kids & Family Content.
Added Chris Viscardi, the Senior Vice President (SVP), Animation Production and Development, Nickelodeon at the time the news was announced: “Avatar: The Last Airbender continues to grow and resonate with fans around the world due its combination of relatable characters with all their foibles and a fully realized world of epic, high-stakes stories and adventures. This partnership with Netflix is part of our broader efforts at Nick and Viacom to tap into our enormous library of culturally resonant properties to produce new interpretations, and we can’t wait for people to see Netflix’s live-action version of Avatar.”
Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender emerged from its initial three seasons (61 episodes) as one of the most beloved animated properties in history. In addition to the series' success the property also has been translated into a successful comic book and graphic novel series, which continue to roll out new original stories. The Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novel series spent 70 cumulative weeks on the New York Times Graphic Novel Bestseller list, hitting number one. The DVD and Blu-rays are also incredibly successful, with the Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Complete Series generating nearly $5MM in retail sales since its 2018 release.
Konietzko and DiMartino also created a follow-up series, The Legend of Korra, that returned to the world of Avatar years after Aang’s death to follow Korra, his successor as Avatar. That series ran between 2012-2014.
More Nick: Funko Announces 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Pop! Animation Figures!
H/T: KorraNews; Additional source: Wikipedia.
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