The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender

The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender
Official logo
Directed byLauren Montgomery
Based onAvatar: The Last Airbender
by Michael Dante DiMartino
Bryan Konietzko
Produced by
  • Maryann Garger
  • Latifa Ouaou
  • Bryan Konietzko
  • Michael Dante DiMartino
Starring
Edited byMichelle Mendenhall
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • October 9, 2026 (2026-10-09)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender is an upcoming American animated fantasy film directed by Lauren Montgomery and co-directed by William Mata. It serves as a continuation of the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008), as well as the first production of Avatar Studios. The film stars the voices of Dave Bautista, Eric Nam, Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten, Román Zaragoza, and Steven Yeun, and will follow the series' main cast in their young adult years.

The film was announced in February 2021, along with the formation of Avatar Studios, a new division of Nickelodeon dedicated to the creation of projects set in the universe of the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise. By June 2022, Montgomery was attached as director. Principal cast members were announced in the following years, with the main voice roles from the series being mostly recast in respect to character ethnic and racial backgrounds. Animation studios that have been attached to provide animation for the production include Flying Bark Productions and Studio Mir.

The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on October 9, 2026, by Paramount Pictures.

Premise

Taking place years after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the film will follow the series' main cast in their young adult years.[1][2]

Voice cast

Production

Background and development

In 2018, Netflix announced that a live-action remake of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-08) was to start production in 2019.[5][6] The series' original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, were initially announced to be the executive producers and showrunners.[7][8] In June 2020, the creators departed the series due to creative differences.[9] That same year, Nickelodeon licensed the original The Last Airbender as well as The Legend of Korra (2012–14) to Netflix, which led to a boom in popularity for both series. This success convinced Nickelodeon to rekindle their relationship with Konietzko and DiMartino and explore further opportunities.[10][11]

In February 2021, ViacomCBS announced during its annual Investor Day the formation of Avatar Studios, a new division of Nickelodeon dedicated to the creation of projects based on animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. The series creators and executive producers Konietzko and DiMartino would serve as co-chief creative officers. It was also announced that the first project of the studio is an animated theatrical film that would begin production later in 2021.[12][13] Original series executive producer Eric Coleman takes executive producer credit, with Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, Latifa Ouaou, and Maryann Garger as the film's producers.[14][3][4]

In June 2022, it was announced that Lauren Montgomery, who was a storyboard artist on the original series and a supervising producer for Korra, would serve as director.[15] In July 2022, Janet Varney, the voice of Korra, revealed that the plot of the film would revolve around the original series' characters.[16][17] A sneak peek of the film was revealed at Paramount Pictures' CinemaCon presentation in April 2023, confirming that the film would follow the characters in their young adulthood.[1][2] In April 2024, it was reported that William Mata would serve as co-director, alongside Montgomery.[14] In April 2025, the title of the film was announced as The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender.[18]

Casting

At CinemaCon in April 2024, Paramount announced the casting of Eric Nam as Aang, Dionne Quan as Toph Beifong, Jessica Matten as Katara, Román Zaragoza as Sokka, and Dave Bautista as an antagonist.[3][14] In March 2025, Variety reported that Steven Yeun, who had previously voiced Avatar Wan in The Legend of Korra, joined the cast in an undisclosed role.[4]

According to the film's casting director, Jenny Jue, the decision to recast the principal characters was on behalf of DiMartino and Konietzko. This direction was influenced by the increased emphasis on matching voice actor's ethnic and racial backgrounds to that of the character that they are portraying, that arose in the industry after the conclusion of the original series. She said, "ATLA is a fictional world, but there are cultural influences for each nation/kingdom, and we wanted to explore the talent from those groups".[19][20] Mae Whitman, the original voice actress for Katara, remarked that despite cherishing her experience, she was excited to see "actors come in, who honestly fit the role much better".[21]

Animation and post-production

In October 2022, it was reported that Flying Bark Productions in Sydney, Australia, would provide animation for the film.[22] In May 2025, it was reported that Studio Mir in Seoul, South Korea, which previously provided animation for The Legend of Korra, would also provide animation for the film.[23] Michelle Mendenhall edited the film.[24] The film will combine hand-drawn animation with CG elements. Alexia Gates-Foale, director of production for Flying Bark, said that working on the film would be "a dream project" for the studio due to multiple employees being fans of the franchise.[22]

Release

The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender is set for theatrical release on October 9, 2026, by Paramount Pictures.[25] The film was previously expected to release on October 10, 2025, then was delayed to January 30, 2026, and then was delayed again to its current date, taking the original date of the untitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem sequel (2027).[26][27][25] According to Animation Magazine, "unspecified delays in physical animation production" led to the second release date push.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b Radulovic, Petrana (April 27, 2023). "Aang and the Avatar gang will be your age when the new animated movie finally comes out in 2025". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Leung, Hilary (April 27, 2023). "Avatar: The Last Airbender Film Gets A 2025 Premiere Date". CBR. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Graves, Sabina (April 11, 2024). "Aang: The Last Airbender Movie Has Found Its Cast, Including Dave Bautista". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Donnelly, Matt; Stephan, Katcy (March 27, 2025). "Steven Yeun Joins Paramount's Untitled Animated Aang 'Avatar' Film (Excluive)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 27, 2025. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  5. ^ Romano, Nick (September 18, 2018). "The 'Avatar' lives again! Live-action 'Last Airbender' series coming to Netflix". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  6. ^ Fingas, Jon (September 18, 2018). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' returns as a live-action Netflix series". Engadget. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  7. ^ Porter, Rick (September 18, 2018). "Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Series Coming to Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  8. ^ Hipes, Patrick (September 18, 2018). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Live-Action Series In Works At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  9. ^ Otterson, Joe (August 12, 2020). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Creators Exit Netflix Live-Action Adaptation". Variety. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  10. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (July 12, 2021). "'Fairly OddParents' Live-Action Series, 'Blue's Clues' Movie Highlight Nickelodeon's Global Push (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  11. ^ Sharf, Zack (July 12, 2021). "Netflix's 'Avatar' Boom Convinced Nickelodeon to Reunite with Creators and Expand Franchise". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  12. ^ Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (February 24, 2021). "Nickelodeon Launches Avatar Studios, Will Expand World of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender,' 'The Legend of Korra'". Variety. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  13. ^ White, Peter (February 24, 2021). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Franchise To Expand With Launch Of Nickelodeon's Avatar Studios, Animated Theatrical Film In The Works". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c Sharf, Zack (April 11, 2024). "Dave Bautista and Eric Nam to Headline Voice Cast for 'Aang: The Last Airbender' Animated Movie at Paramount, Nickelodeon". Variety. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  15. ^ Galuppo, Mia (June 15, 2022). "Three 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Films Set at Paramount, Nickelodeon". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  16. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (July 22, 2022). "Avatar Studios' First Movie Will Focus on Aang". IGN. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 23, 2022). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender': Subject Of First Animated Movie Revealed – Comic-Con". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  18. ^ Fuster, Jeremy (April 3, 2025). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Film Gets New Title". TheWrap. Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  19. ^ Justice, Henry-Damian (May 5, 2025). "The Legend Of Aang: The Last Airbender Has A New Update And Some Fans Will Not Like It". Game Rant. Archived from the original on May 5, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  20. ^ Valdez, Nick (May 3, 2025). "Avatar: The Last Airbender Exec Explains Why Original Cast Was Replaced for New Movie". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  21. ^ Peralta, Diego (May 10, 2023). "EXCLUSIVE: Mae Whitman Will Not Return as the Voice of Katara in the Upcoming 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Films". Awards Radar. Archived from the original on March 28, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  22. ^ a b Slatter, Sean (October 13, 2022). "Flying Bark recruiting artists to work on Paramount/Nickelodeon's 2D 'Avatar' film". IF Magazine. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  23. ^ "'Devil May Cry' Studio Mir Tapped for 'Last Airbender' Movie". Animation Magazine. May 14, 2025. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  24. ^ "Michelle Mendenhall Resume" (PDF). Innovative Production. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 20, 2025. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  25. ^ a b Tangcay, Jazz (May 16, 2025). "'The Legend Of Aang: The Last Airbender' Pushed to October 2026 and 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem' Sequel Delayed to September 2027". Variety. Archived from the original on May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  26. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (April 18, 2024). "'Aang: The Last Airbender' Delayed to 2026, 'Transformers One' Moves Back a Week". Variety. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  27. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 10, 2022). "Paramount Sets Dates For New 'SpongeBob' & 'Aang Avatar' Animated Movies". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  28. ^ "Paramount Animation Shuffles Release Dates for 'Airbender,' 'TMNT,' 'PAW Patrol' Movies". Animation Magazine. May 16, 2025. Archived from the original on May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
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