Long ago, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Now, there’s a new global event to add to the history books: Netflix‘s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Following M. Night Shyamalan‘s bizarre 2010 take on the beloved animated series, a cast of indigenous actors have assembled to tell the story of a magical kid tasked with uniting a fractured world.
With fans already knowing what comes next in the tale, season 2 can’t come fast enough. The original 20-episode series was condensed down into an eight-episode drama on Netflix. The new fantasy series is also much more serious than the animated Nickelodeon show that came before it. For one, there’s less time available to goof off in just eight episodes. The Netflix series puts the story of Avatar Aang (Gordon Cormier)—and his journey to “bend” the power of the four elements to save the world—front and center. But will the latest adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender score a second season?
Netflix
What Happens in Season 1 of Avatar?
Though heavily condensed, season 1 of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender still covers the same ground as the orignal. The young Aang learns that he is the Avatar—a once-in-a-generation hero that can bend fire, air, water, and earth to his will. Many of the planet’s inhabitants can control one of the four, but the Avatar acts as a bridge between all the elements. Waking up from a 100-year-long coma, the world has drastically changed. Following a horrific attack on his home, he befriends Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley) of the Water Tribe—as the Fire Nation seeks to dominate the world without the presence of the Avatar to hold them back.
Will Netflix Renew Avatar: Last Airbender For Season 2?
Netflix has yet to fast-track a season 2 renewal for the series, as they most likely want to see how fans respond to the remake. If the show returns, season 2 will cover the group’s transformation from children to warriors in a global war. Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu), who was once tasked with capturing the Avatar for the Fire Nation, starts to wonder if he’s fighting for the wrong side. Meanwhile, Aang begins his training to master all four elements—with the help of some new friends, of course.
Netflix
Should season 2 get the green light, there may be a significant time jump in between seasons. Showrunner Albert Kim said there’s one problem with adapting animated series to live-action: actors actually age, unlike their animated counterparts. “All three seasons of the animated series essentially take place in the course of one calendar year,” Kim told Entertainment Weekly. “There was no way we could do that. So we had to design this first season, especially, to accommodate the possibility of some time elapsing between the first and the second season.”
The threat of Sozin’s Comet—an astrological event that boosts the power of the Fire Nation—was only teased at the very end of the first season. “We removed that particular ticking clock from our show for now because we couldn’t know exactly how old our actors would be for the subsequent seasons,” Kim explained. Still, the time jump will grant the series ample opportunity to get some popular season 2 castings right, including the blind Earthbender, Toph. If the Avatar remake is a hit, we’ll likely see everyone again in no time.
