It’s official, Avatar: The Last Airbender is making its way to the world of live-action. This classic animated series was a staple for many kids who grew up with Nickelodeon, and now it’s headed to Netflix with a new cast playing the iconic fantastical characters.
The first season of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender is slated on the 2024 TV schedule for a February 22 release, and the first look at The Last Airbender’s core characters and its official trailer got us really hyped for this show. So, we figured it's about time we break down the expansive cast that Netflix has confirmed for its upcoming series.
Gordon Cormier
The master of all four elements, and the Avatar tasked with defeating the Fire Lord will be played by 14-year-old Gordon Cormier. Aang is the main character of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the story follows his journey to perfect every type of bending after being on ice for 100 years. So, like our titular character, Cormier is setting off on a big journey as the kid who has been chosen to “save the world.”
Before being cast as everyone’s favorite Airbender, Cormier appeared in the holiday movies A Christmas Miracle and Christmas Under the Stars. He also voiced a character in Team Zenko Go and appeared in the mini-series The Stand.
Kiawentiio
Playing Katara, one of the best female benders in the Avatar universe, is Kiawentiio. Katara and Sokka have been whisked away on a worldwide journey with Aang, and while the Avatar learns to master all the elements, she becomes a master water bender.
Before taking on this legendary role, Kiawentiio appeared in the Netflix series Anne with an E as well as the short N’xaxaitkw and the film Beans.
Ian Ousley
Sokka, is the boomerang-loving boy and non-bender among the core characters, will be played by Ian Ousley. While he might not be able to bend like his sister, Sokka is a great strategist, incredibly funny and overall a big ball of charisma.
This marks the first principal role for Ousley. Before being cast as Katara’s big brother, he had small roles on shows like Young Sheldon, 13 Reasons Why and Physical.
Dallas Liu
Dallas Liu will be playing Zuko, our beloved prince of the Fire Nation, and a man trying to catch the Avatar. We already know Liu and Cormier have an A+ rivalry brewing, making them the perfect pair for this iconic duo, and I can’t wait to see how this young actor plays out the complex and brilliant story of Zuko.
Before signing on to play the scarred prince, Liu appeared in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ted Rings as well as the comedy PEN15.
Elizabeth Yu
Zuko’s sinister older sister Azula will be played by Elizabeth Yu. The royal fire bender is a hot-headed character, who acts as her father’s right-hand woman. She is out to take down the Avatar and her brother at times, making her one of the scarier characters in the series.
Before playing the master fire bender Yu starred in two other films: Somewhere in Queens and May December. The Last Airbender will be her first TV series.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
Keeping things in the royal fire family, Zuko’s beloved Uncle Iroh will be played by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee. Iroh acts as a mentor and father figure to the young fire bender, and he is also his nephew’s moral compass.
After appearing in 272 episodes of Train 48, Lee popped up in various projects before landing the role of Appa on Kim’s Convenience. Then, before making his way to the world of benders, he was in a galaxy far, far away playing Captain Carson Teva in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
Daniel Dae Kim
The primary antagonist of Avatar: The Last Airbender is Fire Lord Ozai, and he’ll be played by Daniel Dae Kim. The evil leader of the Fire Nation has been part of a generation of leaders who have corrupted their nation, and now Aang and the gang are out to stop him.
The actor behind Zuko and Azula’s evil father has a long career in the entertainment industry, but seeing him play a true villain will be new. Before the Netflix series, Dae Kim starred in Lost, Hawaii Five-0 and the series of Divergent movies, among many other projects.
Ken Leung
Admiral Zhao is the primary antagonist of the first season of the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender, and he'll be played by Ken Leung. As a servant of the Fire Lord, he is out to capture the Avatar, however, he is also really rude and violent toward Zuko.
Leung is best known for his recent role in the HBO Max series Industry and for his time as Miles on Lost.
C.S. Lee
Avatar Roku was the master of the elements before Aang took over the mantel. He acts as a guiding light to the young Avatar, and provides context to the Fire Nation’s complex past.
C.S. Lee is best known for his time on Dexter, where he played Vince, and has also played recurring characters on shows like East New York and Chuck.
Maria Zhang
Suki is the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, an absolute legend and Sokka’s love interest. She’ll be played by Maria Zhang, and this will be her first major project. Before this, the actress starred in shorts like All I Ever Wanted and Dear Mom.
Yvonne Chapman
The creator of Kyoshi Island, founder of the Kyoshi Warriors, and the Avatar who came before Roku and Aang is Avatar Kyoshi. She will be played by Yvonne Chapman who is best known for her role in the CW series Kung Fu.
Amber Midthunder
Along with playing a powerful woman in Prey (and its potential sequel?) Amber Midthunder has joined the Airbender cast as Princess Yue.
Yue is the princess of the Northern Water Tribe, and plays a pivotal role in the final portion of the first season of the animated series.
Along with Prey, Midthunder is best known for her work in Legion and Roswell, New Mexico among other projects like Hell or High Water and The Wheel.
A Martinez
Pakku is a master water bender from the Northern Water Tribe who helps Aang and Katara, and plays a pivotal role in both of them mastering this type of bending. He will be played by A Martinez, who played Jacob Nighthorse in Longmire and appeared in the live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop.
Arden Cho
June is a bounty hunter who goes around the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom on her shirshu, which is a creature who can sniff out just about anything. She pops up throughout the show to execute various missions to find people, however, her allegiance is always unknown.
Arden Cho will play this incredibly cool character. She’s best known for starring as the badass Kira on Teen Wolf, and she recently starred in the Netflix series Partner Track.
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Bumi is the high-energy King of Omashu who is a childhood friend of Aang. The chaotic and hilarious Earth bender will be played by Utkarsh Ambudkar.
Ambudkar is known for his work on Ghosts and Free Guy. He also had a movie on the 2023 movie schedule, World’s Best. On top of acting, he’s also a fantastic freestyle rapper.
Danny Pudi
Aang and the gang meet the Mechanist and his son Teo when they visit the Northern Air Temple. He’s an engineer and inventor, and this fun character will be played by Danny Pudi.
You’ll likely recognize Pudi for his role as Abed in Community. Along with the NBC cult classic, he is in Mythic Quest and voices Huey in Duck Tales.
Lucian-River Chauhan
The Mechanist’s son Teo is a high-flying, high-energy kiddo who becomes friends with Aang, Katara and Sokka when they visit the Northern Air Temple.
The youngster will be played by Lucian-River Chauhan, who has appeared in shows like Heartland and Gabby Duran & The Unsittables.
James Sie
One of the most fun recurring characters/Easter eggs in The Last Airbender is the Cabbage Merchant, the poor man who just wants to sell his cabbages in peace. What makes this an even better Easter egg is the live-action Cabbage Merchant will be played by James Sie, the voice actor who originated the character in the animated series.
Momona Tamada
Ty Lee is one of Azula’s friends and a master gymnast. Playing the bubbly character is Momona Tamada, who was previously in The Baby-Sitters Club.
Thalia Tran
Mai, is the exact opposite of Ty Lee, and the much more serious friend of Azula. She also plays a big role in Zuko’s life, but no spoilers here. Thalia Tran will be playing the monotone warrior, and she’s best known for voicing a character in Raya and the Last Dragon.
George Takei
A true legend has been hired to play the face-stealing spirit Koh. When Aang travels to the spirit realm he’ll be met by George Takei’s voice and one haunting spirit. Of course, Takei is best known for his work in Star Trek as Sulu and he’s had a successful voice acting career.
Randall Duk Kim
Also joining the spirit world is Randall Duk Kim who will voice Wan Shi Tong, the owl who runs the Spirit Library. This role will be added to quite the list of voice acting work for Duk Kim as he played Oogway in the Kung Fu Panda movies. On top of that, he also played the Keymaker in The Matrix Reloaded.
As you can see there’s a lot to look forward to from this massive ensemble, and if you’ve seen the animated series, you know that this isn’t even a fraction of all the characters we have to look forward to as the show moves forward. While it will be a while before we see this cast in their roles, you can go back and watch the original Avatar: The Last Airbender with a Netflix subscription, and you’ll be able to find its live-action companion there too super soon.
