I know it's despised, but I've always been a defender of the M. Night Shyamalan The Last Airbender movie.
Was it disappointing? You bet your sweet sky bison it was. But, I thought Shyamalan did an admirable job of adapting Book One of the popular Nickelodeon show. But thankfully, we now have a vastly superior live-action adaptation with this recent Netflix series.
And it got me to thinking…what if we got a similar Netflix adaptation of The Legend of Korra, which I actually prefer to Avatar The Last Airbender? So, here are five reasons why this new ATLA series has me CRAVING a live-action The Legend of Korra adaptation.
Oh, and minor spoilers for the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series.
Seeing Republic City In Live-Action Would Be A Real Sight
There are a number of cool locales in Avatar: The Last Airbender, but none of them are as impressive (to me, anyway), as Republic City from The Legend of Korra. What’s cool about Republic City is that it’s both super advanced (compared to ATLA), since it’s steampunk, but also old-timey as well. This juxtaposition gives it a unique quality that I’ve loved from the very first moment that I saw it.
While a lot of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender looks a little bland at times, you can tell when the money was spent on set design with locations like Omashu, which literally looks like it does (from an overhead perspective, anyway) in the cartoon.
In that way, I think that a live-action version of Republic City could look super amazing, especially if it’s stylized like one of my favorite movies, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Honestly, even if a live-action The Legend of Korra didn’t turn out so hot, I’d still be pretty happy with it if they at least nailed Republic City.
The Action In The Live-Action Avatar Has Me Pining To See Live-Action Combat From Korra
Many of the best episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender are heavier on the inner conflict than they are on the outer conflict, which is what makes it such a great show. However, while we get a great deal of those inner conflict moments in The Legend of Korra as well, a lot of the best episodes of that series rely heavily on the kick ass action, as the latter show’s combat and bending are arguably so much better.
That’s one thing that they really upped the ante with in this live-action ATLA series. As my colleague, Alexandra Ramos, noted in her article after she binged the entire season, “the bending looked out of this world.” And, as a fellow ATLA fan, I must say that I agree.
One thing that was absolutely pitiful in the live-action movie (which again, I defend), was the bending scenes, which were usually pretty laughable. But, this live-action show makes the bending look as it should. Plus, the battles, for the most part anyway, are pretty enthralling. Honestly, if the fights in the movie looked this good, then I think that the film wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much hate as it did, “ONG,” and “SOAKA,” by damned.
But, could you imagine how cool METALBENDING would be in a live-action Korra series? Or what about lavabending? They could be so sick! I also think that the pro-bending Fire Ferrets scenes would be amazing in live-action. Whereas I kind of fast-forward through the pro-bending stuff any time I rewatch The Legend of Korra, I think that could potentially be a highlight of a series if it was shown in live-action.
I Want To See What Changes They Make To The Story
Okay, so I’m not going to spoil anything major since the series is still pretty fresh, but one thing I really like about this live-action ATLA show is what they did with some of the previous avatars. It’s not really a MASSIVE change or anything, but I like that there are some changes made that do make the show feel a bit separate from the cartoon.
Because as somebody who loved both the Kyoshi novels, as well as the more recent Yangchen novels, any extra content we get regarding the previous avatars is A-OK in my book. There are other changes from the overall series as well, but I like most of them and don’t view them as negatives, but rather as positives.
And since I’ve seen Korra so many times, I’d love to see what kind of changes they could make to that story as well. For example, in this hypothetical series (even though I caught nods to both The Legend of Korra and even the comics in this live-action Avatar show), would they make the attraction between Korra and Asami (i.e., Korrasami) much more prominent and upfront this time around?
One issue that a lot of fans had at the time (And I remember, since I was there) was that their attraction wasn’t as clear as it could have been. (Mind you, the series ended 10 years ago, so an LGBTQ relationship in a children’s cartoon at all was groundbreaking at the time.)
But, I just wonder if something like that would be celebrated early on, rather than somewhat snuck in toward the tail end. That said, there are even more changes that I’d be interested in seeing, most notably in the structure of how they tell Korra’s story…
I Want To See What The Enemies Would Be Like In Live-Action
One reason why I prefer Korra to Avatar was because each season was incredibly different, as each season presented a different big bad for our protagonist. In season 1, it was Amon. Season 2 presented Unalaq. Season 3 (my favorite) gave us Zaheer, and Season 4 blessed us with Kuvira.
The amazing thing about each antagonist is that they pushed Korra both physically, but also emotionally. And by Book 4, she was a completely different person than she was in Book 1. This growth really makes The Legend of Korra the kind of series where you have to watch it all the way through in order to get the complete story.
I’m not saying this isn’t the case with Avatar, but by having one central antagonist in Fire Lord Ozai, we see Aang grow, whereas we see Korra change every season since all of her foes are different.
However, knowing Netflix, you can never be sure whether a show will make it past one season (RIP, Cowboy Bebop). So, I think it would be interesting to see if a live-action version of The Legend of Korra might combine storylines and enemies, just in case the show wouldn’t be brought back for a second season.
A live-action Korra, after all, is much more of a gamble than a live-action Avatar series, and I just wonder if a show like this was ever made, would they approach the villains and the seasons differently from the cartoon?
I Want To See What Actors They Would Pick
Lastly, I really want to see who they would pick to play characters like Korra, Bolin, Mako, Asami, and of course, Varrick. While the acting in the live-action series sometimes leaves a little to be desired, I will say that some of the actors are absolutely incredible, and I would love to see who they would pick to play some of my favorites.
Because that’s the thing. Korra features much older characters, many of them adults, so the pool of potential experienced actors would be much higher. I also think this would be a net positive for a show based in this world, as a lot of the best stories (such as the ones featuring an aged Toph, or Zaheer) could really shine with stirring performances.
So, in a lot of ways, this might be the biggest reason why I would love to see a live-action Korra. I want to see who they would get to play Zaheer! (Henry Rollins, perhaps?)
Those are just a few of the reasons why I’d love to see a live-action The Legend of Korra series. But, what do you think? Have you checked out the recent live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender show? For more news on all things Korra (And Avatar!), be sure to swing by here often!
