When news broke that there would be an upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender movie, well, you know this diehard Avatar fan (who actually thinks The Legend of Korra is better than Avatar: The Last Airbender, but that's neither here nor there), was going to be pumped. Actually, pumped isn't the right word, as "shaken to my earthbending core" was more like it.
Because I LOVE Avatar! I've ranked the best episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, as well as the best The Legend of Korra episodes, and hell, I've even dreamed up possible Avatar movies and shows that I'd love to see from Avatar Studios.
In November 2022, Variety reported that the "untitled Aang Avatar movie" from Paramount and Nickelodeon is scheduled to arrive in 2025. While Variety had no further details on the plot of the film, a report in December from Avatarnews.co says that a version of Aang and his friends, all grown up, is possibly going to be the upcoming movie. While that has yet to be confirmed officially, it did get me thinking about the characters from ATLA that I'd love to see in a potential film where Aang and the gaang are all grown up. It doesn't get much better than this.
Sokka
As somebody who has read all of the Avatar: The Last Airbender comics (including the excellent one-off, Suki, Alone), Katara’s brother (and badass nonbender) Sokka has been a constant in all of Aang's adventures. We even saw bits of him on The Legend of Korra in a flashback scene.
So, guess what. I want to see more of Sokka as an adult. In The Legend of Korra, he still had a bit of his puckishness, but I want to see how much of the comic relief he would be as an adult in the movie. I see him being a cross between Bolin and Mako in The Legend of Korra, who can be both silly, but also serious. He might even have the most growth, given his new diplomatic responsibilities.
Katara
In the Katara one-off comic, Katara and the Pirate’s Silver, we learned that the powerful waterbender, Katara, had a few adventures on her own, and I'd love to see that independent side of her in an upcoming movie.
But, here's the interesting thing. While it’s been reported that the movie will center around Aang as an adult, that could mean a lot of things. Are Team Avatar going to be in their early 20s, or in their 30s? I only wonder because we could potentially see Aang and Katara's children, such as Tenzin, as a kid.
Honestly, seeing Aang and Katara in full parent-mode could be really interesting, but only time will tell just how far into the future this potential upcoming movie will go.
Toph Beifong
This is again another matter of just how far in the future this movie could be. If it's several years in the future, then we could possibly see the strongest earthbender in the world, Toph Beifong, become the first Chief of Police for Republic City. In the recent Legend of Korra comic, Patterns in Time, we actually do see her as the Chief of Police (and Aang getting his son, Tenzin, off the hook with her), so that could be pretty cool.
But, I'd really like to see Toph teaching metalbending to the world, as she started forming schools in the comics. Really, Toph has always been more her own woman, so it'd be awesome to see her get pulled back into the mix from whatever other job she might be doing at the moment.
Zuko
Zuko has one of the best character arcs on TV, but here's the thing. Even though the firebender has major character arcs in the graphic novels, The Promise, The Search, and Smoke and Shadow, we don’t really know what happens to him between then and The Legend of Korra, where he works as an ambassador.
So, I'd really like to see him as an adult Fire Lord, working to keep the peace within the different kingdoms. I wonder if people have been wary of him because of his father. Speaking of which…
Firelord Ozai
Aang showed just how powerful he truly is when he took Firelord Ozai's bending away from him, and we see him again in the comics as a broken man. But, I would like to see him as an old man.
Like, did he ever find peace without his bending? I have thought about Firelord Ozai quite a bit, and I would love to see what he was like in the future, and whether Aang ever went to visit him when he was much older.
In the most recent Legend of Korra comic, a young bender is worried that Aang might take his bending away from him after he defaces an air shrine, and Aang is obviously disturbed that the young man would think such a thing of him. So, I wonder if Aang ever really regretted the act of taking Firelord Ozai's bending away from him, even though it was a pacifistic act, as he really could have just killed him (Avatar Kyoshi certainly would have).
Suyin Beifong's Father
Lastly, I think a lot of fans (myself included) would like to know one of The Legend of Korra's biggest mysteries, which is, who is the father of Toph's daughter, Suyin? We learned late in the series that the father of Toph's other daughter, Lin, was a man named Kanto. But, Suyin's father has, to this day, never been revealed.
Now, granted, the answer to this mystery might not actually be interesting at all. If it's just some nobody like this "Kanto" fellow (If we are to really believe Toph on this), then who cares, right? BUT, if it's actually Sokka, like some fans tend to believe, then that could be REALLY interesting.
And, even if it's not Sokka, I would still like to see how Sokka reacts to Toph's partners. Though he's mostly been a Suki-only fellow, you could tell that there was something between Sokka and Toph (I mean, there wouldn't be speculation that Sokka is Suyin's father if there wasn't). I somehow doubt this question will be answered in the new movie, but if it is, I think it would put a lot of the (probably) fanfiction to rest.
And, that's the list. Which characters would YOU love to see in the new movie? For all things Avatar: The Last Airbender-related, make sure to swing around here often!
