Bryan Konietzko Gives Status Update on Netflix's Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Adaptation

Bryan Konietzko, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender, recently gave an update on Instagram about the production status of Netflix's live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon's beloved animated series, including plans for the open audition, and how the global COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic may affect it:

Below is Konietzko's Instagram message in full:

"A lot of you are still curious and excited about when there will be an open casting call for the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender for Netflix. As always, thanks for your continued enthusiasm. In my original post about it, I had said it would likely happen in late 2019 — *likely* but not guaranteed, and obviously we have not reached that stage yet or else you would have heard about it from me, Netflix, etc. We’re working on some awesome stuff, but we’re still in development/preproduction. I’m reposting my stories here from 11 days ago, Thursday March 12th, in case you missed them. There are no big announcements in there, just a note about the lack of updates and a *much more important* note about the state of the world in this Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis. If you haven’t been keeping up with the news, film and tv productions the world over have been suspended. At the moment, we are lucky that our small team on the adaptation is still moving things forward as best we can, obviously all working remotely. And as is always the case, when we have news we *can* share we will share it. So please don’t hound me or anyone else associated with us about casting. Just be patient. 💙🙏💙 Avatar can wait, but now it’s up to all of us, in our individual actions and how we support each other, to save the world. For real. Be safe, smart, generous, compassionate, and healthy. Love, Bryan #flattenthecurve"

View this post on Instagram

A lot of you are still curious and excited about when there will be an open casting call for the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender for Netflix. As always, thanks for your continued enthusiasm. In my original post about it, I had said it would likely happen in late 2019 — *likely* but not guaranteed, and obviously we have not reached that stage yet or else you would have heard about it from me, Netflix, etc. We’re working on some awesome stuff, but we’re still in development/preproduction. I’m reposting my stories here from 11 days ago, Thursday March 12th, in case you missed them. There are no big announcements in there, just a note about the lack of updates and a *much more important* note about the state of the world in this Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis. If you haven’t been keeping up with the news, film and tv productions the world over have been suspended. At the moment, we are lucky that our small team on the adaptation is still moving things forward as best we can, obviously all working remotely. And as is always the case, when we have news we *can* share we will share it. So please don’t hound me or anyone else associated with us about casting. Just be patient. 💙🙏💙 Avatar can wait, but now it’s up to all of us, in our individual actions and how we support each other, to save the world. For real. Be safe, smart, generous, compassionate, and healthy. Love, Bryan #flattenthecurve

A post shared by Bryan Konietzko (@bryankonietzko) on Mar 23, 2020 at 9:04am PDT

Update (5/19): In January 2020, Daniel Richtman posted that the series is “looking for a mostly Asian cast and a 12-14 Asian kid to play Aang.”

“looking for a mostly Asian cast and a 12-14 Asian kid to play Aang…” The words “Asian Kid” do not exactly imply growing child star, but moreso align with a no-name talent. Forrest Wheeler from Fresh Off the Boat feels like a perfect pick, given his high-energy disposition and contagious upbeat personality. However, he’s already aged out of the role, for he’s 16.

More Nick: Nickelodeon Launches #KidsTogether--A Global Prosocial Initiative to Help Kids and Families Stay Informed and Engaged With Activities; Noggin to be Offered Free to Kids in Need in Partnership with National Head Start Association and First Book

Originally published: Sunday, March 29, 2020.

Original source: News Landed; Additional source: Showbiz CheatSheet.

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