It has been 20 years since “Avatar: The Final Airbender” revolutionized TV, and now the franchise is increasing. We have had comics and novels for some time now, with implausible tales that develop the world of “Avatar” and paint an image of various eras and totally different reincarnations of the titular grasp of all 4 parts. However now we’re going again to the display screen, each huge and small, with a brand new sequel sequence in addition to a film, “The Legend of Aang: The Final Airbender.”
Directed by Lauren Montgomery, who labored as a storyboard artist in season 3 of the present, after which as a supervising producer on the whole lot of “The Legend of Korra,” particulars on “The Legend of Aang” are scarce, however we do know it’s a set after the unique sequence, however earlier than “Korra,” following the primary forged as younger adults. Studio Mir will return to work on the animation alongside Flying Bark Productions, which is nice given Mir’s familiarity with the franchise.
As a lot as there was pleasure over the brand new venture, some followers are anxious, primarily due to the recasting of each foremost character from the unique sequence. We all know Eric Nam would be the new voice of Aang, Jessica Matten and Román Zaragoza will play Katara and Sokka, and Dionne Quan is the brand new voice of Toph Beifong. After it was reported that Steven Yeun was becoming a member of the forged earlier this yr, present creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko confirmed to IGN that Yeun will really be the brand new voice of Hearth Lord Zuko. Yeun is changing Dante Basco, who voiced the character within the unique cartoon.
Sure, it sucks to see another person take over a task that’s so intrinsically linked to a voice actor, however not solely does Dante Basco (as nice an actor as he’s) nonetheless sound as a young person when he is almost 50, actual followers know to relax out — as a result of nobody is ever actually gone in “Avatar.”
Steven Yeun already performed an vital position within the Avatar franchise
Yeun isn’t any stranger to the “Avatar” universe. He first joined the franchise when he performed Avatar Wan in “The Legend of Korra.” Wan was the very first Avatar, the primary particular person to grasp all 4 parts by fusing with the spirit of sunshine, Raava. The 2-part episode the place we meet Wan is amongst the best episodes in the whole sequence, and a part of the rationale Wan stays so common is because of Yeun’s efficiency because the hotheaded Avatar with a coronary heart of gold.
These are the identical qualities that made Zuko one of the beloved animated characters of the 2000s, which Yeun can deliver to the character in “The Legend of Aang.”
Sure, a giant purpose why the forged of “Avatar” is being changed is to higher respect the ethnic and racial backgrounds of the characters — one thing that the animation business has solely actually begun to barely take care of prior to now few years. Within the case of Basco, would he actually wish to be the one and solely forged member to return to the franchise? Would not it’s weirder to have Zuko sound the identical whereas everybody else was totally different?
Apart from, this isn’t the primary time “Avatar” characters have been recast. Along with Uncle Iroh, a personality that was recast when the unique actor, Mako, handed away, “The Legend of Korra” introduced again many characters with new voices. Toph Beifong was voiced by Kate Higgins in flashbacks and by Philece Sampler within the current day. D. B. Sweeney voiced grownup Aang. Eva Marie Saint grew to become the brand new voice of Katara. And, as for Zuko, he was already voiced by a special actor within the sequel sequence, with Bruce Davison changing Basco as an aged former Hearth Lord.
It is smart {that a} film set a number of years after the occasions of “The Final Airbender” would characteristic the characters with modified voices, even when it means new folks getting into the beloved roles.
Dante Basco can nonetheless return (once more)
The factor in regards to the recasting in “Avatar” is that that is nonetheless animation. Voice actors do not simply play one position in a present, however typically voice a number of characters, huge and small. Even when “The Legend of Korra” introduced again beloved characters with new actors, it nonetheless discovered area to deliver again some members of the unique “The Final Airbender” forged.
Dee Bradley Baker, who voiced Appa and Momo in “Avatar,” returned in “The Legend of Korra” to voice the brand new animals, like Naga and Pabu. Moreover, he voiced one of many present’s huge villains, Tarrlok, within the first season. Gray DeLisle-Griffin, who voiced the terrifying Azula within the unique present, returned in season three of “The Legend of Korra” because the evil waterbender Ming-Hua. Even when Toph was recast (twice), we nonetheless noticed Michaela Jill Murphy, often known as Jessie Flower, return to the “Avatar” universe to voice one other member of the Beifong household — Suyin Beifong, Toph’s daughter, in flashbacks.
Then, in fact, there’s Basco himself. Those that are unhappy to study that Basco is being changed in “The Legend of Aang” ought to keep in mind that he was already changed in “The Legend of Korra,” but in addition that he got here again in that present. That is proper. In case you in some way missed Basco’s immediately recognizable voice, the actor often known as Rufio in “Hook” performed Zuko’s personal grandson, Normal Iroh, within the first season of “Korra.” Within the case of Murphy and Basco, their return helped proceed the legacy of their characters of their descendants. So who is aware of, maybe there’s area for them to return in future “Avatar” tasks.
