Back in February, the live-action TV adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender was released to those who hold a Netflix subscription. Although the show earned mixed critical reception (which is still a major improvement over M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender movie), it performed well enough that Netflix (one of the best streaming services) announced that it will continue for two more seasons. Although she hasn’t had time to watch Avatar yet, actress Jennifer Hale, who voiced Avatar Kyoshi in the original animated series and its spinoff, The Legend of Korra, told CinemaBlend that she’s happy this new live-action take exists, though she used that as a springboard to put “a call out” to other companies adapting animated properties.
In addition to recently chatting with Hale about topics like how she liked X-Men ’97 highlighting Jean Grey and Storm’s friendship and where she stands on what’s coming up for the Totally Spies franchise, I asked her if she’d seen Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender and, if so, what she thought about it. The actress answered:
I have not seen it. I don’t, unfortunately, have a ton of time to watch content, but I love that they did it. I love that that show got that much love. It's so great. One thing I wish, and I want to put a call out to everybody taking an animated or a game-based property, and say pause for a second when you're in the casting process and trust those of us actors who originated the roles. Because maybe some may not be visually right for on camera, etc, but the voice of our community is this unbelievable fountain of talent, and you're overlooking #1, huge talent resources that are deeply familiar with the IP and know the stories backwards, forwards and inside out, originated them in so many cases, and incredibly lovely people to work with, and the fan base that comes with them.
I can understand Jennifer Hale not having the time to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender or other content given how she keeps bust, as evidenced by her massive filmography. Still, it was nice of her to throw some love towards the Netflix show’s way, albeit with a caveat towards that and other projects adapting animated properties and video games. If you’re going to embark on such a creative endeavor, she suggests you consider casting the original voice actors in some capacity. That’s not to say you have to cast them in the same roles (although that has worked out in the Star Wars franchise with folks like Katie Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze), but as Hale sees it, you get the one-two punch of bringing aboard more talented people who have the added experience of already knowing these characters, and the property as a whole, quite well.
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender cast Yvonne Chapman (who’s next set to appear in the final season of Superman & Lois) as Avatar Kyoshi, as seen above. Just like in the original show, Aang, Katara and Sokka traveled to Kyoshi Island shortly after departing from the Southern Water Tribe, where they found the statute of the location’s namesake and met the Kyoshi Warriors. In this take on the material though, Kyoshi, one of Aang’s past lives, took over his body so he could fend off Zuko, Commander Zhao and their Fire Nation troops. If the original Avatar is any indication, we should see more of Kyoshi in the Netflix show’s next two seasons.
Meanwhile, you can keep yourself entertained by checking out the best shows on Netflix that can be streamed now. Listen to Jennifer Hale voicing Jean Grey and Madelyne Pryor, among other characters, by streaming X-Men ’97 with a Disney+ subscription.
