There's no doubt that lifelong fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender are nervous about another live-action adaptation. However, now that Netflix has dropped its official trailer for its take on the Nickelodeon classic, I have no doubt that we're in for a treat! That's because this new look at Season 1 of Netflix’s The Last Airbender shows faithful takes on Aang's bending powers, Sokka's humor and so much more. Let's just say, overall, I'm very impressed and obsessed.
While we got a tease of Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender a few months ago, we didn't really get a sense of the characters and their powers. However, with this new extended trailer, we got to see Aang in all his airbending power, Sokka's snarky humor on full display, and so much more that shows just how much the live-action Last Airbender cast and crew get what they're making.
Seeing Aang’s Airbending Power On Full Display Is Incredible
Admittedly, I was nervous about how the element bending of The Last Airbender would be brought to life. However, this trailer showed all the major characters bending earth, water and fire, and it looked incredible. Most notably though, the video included clips of Gordon Cormier’s Aang airbending, and it took my breath away.
Seeing the Avatar bend air so effortlessly in live-action seemed impossible. However, between Cormier’s performance and the astonishing special effects, Aang’s airbending took me right back to watching the animated series.
In both serious and silly moments, we saw the young Avatar take down firebenders and ride an airball into a statue. In the OG series, Aang is a masterful and powerful bender, however, he’s also a child. Therefore, he uses his powers to save the world and keep things light.
This trailer showed me that this will remain the case in the live-action Airbender, and that makes me so happy. Seeing how Netflix’s show balances heart, humor and drama through these characters and their powers is essential to us getting a great series, and between Aang and Sokka it seems like they struck the balance perfectly with this show.
Sokka’s Sense Of Humor Being Spot On Shows That Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Gets The Tone Of The OG Series
Seeing Sokka sarcastically say “Right, there goes the savior of the world” while biting into an apple after Aang runs into a statue, is the kind of sass I need in a faithful adaptation of The Last Airbender. This character is the comedic relief in the OG show, and it’s moments like Momo landing on his head and him rolling his eyes that help lighten the mood.
What Avatar: The Last Airbender does so brilliantly is it balances the dramatic and heavy plot about the Fire Nation ruling the world and Aang stopping him, with the humor of kids being the ones responsible for completing this quest.
The show is charming, heartwarming, gut-wrenching at times, and moving. All that comes through because we get a mix of well-developed characters, like Sokka, who are hilarious and understand the stakes at hand. Being able to see his humor on display through Ian Ousley’s performance proved to me that we’re going to see these beloved characters portrayed with a lot of care, and in a lot of ways, they’ll mirror the ensemble in the animated series.
Of course, there is so much more goodness packed into this trailer – like Zuko being angsty and our first glimpses at fun side characters like Suki, Bumi and June. However, these two elements are what convinced me that we lifelong fans are in for a ride that we’ll thoroughly enjoy.
All this is to say, my Netflix subscription is ready, and you better believe I’ll be tuning in to see more of Aang, Sokka and the gang when the long-awaited live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender hits the 2024 TV schedule on February 22.
