Sokka, of course.
(Wetoldyou it was a hot set.)
Then theres Ian Ousley.
Ian Ousley, Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, and Dallas Liu for EW’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ cover shoot.Nick Fancher
Thats kind of my whole personality, Ousley jokes.
Before shooting his big hero moment tossing said boomerang he motions for everyone to get back.
He refuses to even start until he can see most of the crew standing at an acceptable distance away.
(For context, Cormier auditioned for the titular role at age 11 and is now 14.
I was cast at 14 and Im about to be 18, adds Kiawentiio.)
But the true magic ofAvatar, much like its titular reincarnating figure, was its ability to cross generations.
It also just happened to showcase some of the most exciting feats of animation on television.
I was just watching alongside her, just pulled into this incredible world….
It was the memories I had with my daughter that really sold me on the idea of doing this.
Its this love from seemingly disparate fan groups that has long piqued Hollywoods interest in creating a live-action version.M.
Night Shyamalannotably made a 2010 movie calledThe Last Airbender so as not to confuse it withJames CameronsAvatar.
That effort was quite spectacularly read to filth by every corner of the fandom at the time.
And the critics didn’t care for it, either.
(Kim purposefully avoided watching the movie.
As of press time, he still hasnt seen it.)
), the nextAvataris looking to quote the original intro to change the world.
We want to ensure that our show is for all ages."
I think the airbender genocide is really cool… Well, no!
Not like that, Cormier says, quickly correcting himself.
Even when hes not trying, the actor naturally channels elements of Aang, including a playful awkwardness.
I mean, yeah, my whole family’s dead, of course.
It’s not a good thing, but watching it is going to be sick!
(He means for the airbending effects.)
Kim says theres a good reason this particular event wasnt depicted on the original show.
It’s a cartoon, it’s meant for kids, he notes.
But I felt it was important that we see the event that creates the story ofAvatar.
The famous line is, Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.
I wanted to see that.
He also clarifies that moments like this do not make hisAvatara dark retelling.
He was absolutely cheering me on and wanting me to make it my own.
I didn’t think too much of it, honestly, Liu says.
Ian started calling it the joystick on the first day.
But it definitely tapped me into my character a lot.
I remember, because I was just laughing really hard and pointing.
Look at that thing on the back of your head!
Ousley, 21, knew early on what he hoped to maintain in his character from the original.
I wanted to ensure that Sokka is funny, he says.
But, Ousley notes, There’s more weight with realism in every way.
Some things that worked in the more zany animated kids show hit differently in live action.
I feel like there were a lot of moments in the original show that were iffy.
Ousley agrees with Kiawentiio: Yeah, totally.
There are things that were redirected just because it might play a little differently [in live action].
Also playing out differently is the absence of Katara and Sokkas parents.
I do feel like it’s a recurring theme, Kiawentiio adds.
It’s such a big part of their lives.
Ozai is always watching and always judging, says Daniel Dae Kim.
So you get a sense of how stifling this family can be.
TheAvatarfans have already helped Yu inadvertently.
I thought those were so interesting, she says.
A lot of the O.G.
series was through the eyes of Zuko, Yu says.
That is how Ozai thinks, in a strange way.
In his own way, he believes he is parenting the best way he knows how.
So he’s trying to figure out who is going to lead this nation into the future.
Outside the show, theLostalum and Yu have a much healthier relationship.
I didnt even know you were in that movie!
he says as they start to catch up.
I’m glad it’s getting a lot of love, and I hope you are too.
I have imposter syndrome about all of it, she says, bashfully.
You definitely shouldn’t!
In their element
Albert Kim takes pride in filling his cast with entirely Asian and Indigenous actors.
Traces of the creators work on the live-action series still remain.
I got along really well with them, and we worked together for a while.
My first reaction after Hell yeah!
was Holy s—!
Do I really want to do this?'
It’s more Southeast Asia, Kim explains, relaying information he learned directly from Konietzko and DiMartino.
It’s a very varied land.
Much like Daniel Dae Kim, Sie is a living Easter egg.
Now he gets to play the role in live action.
He was probably the biggest celebrity we had on set, the showrunner says.
Both actors were in similar places, as Liu hadnt landed too many jobs by that point.
For Cormier, it was slightly different.
I actually considered not doing it because I didn’t know what it was, he recalls.
I was a small 11-year-old, and they were looking for a 12-year-old.
So I was thinking, I’m not going to book this.
I don’t fit the casting.
Kim didnt have a specific checklist for what he wanted from his ideal Team Avatar.
He relied more on what he inherently knew from watching the original series.
You need that childlike sense of optimism for Aang, that wide-eyed sense of wonder.
You need that jokester quality for Sokka, he lists as examples.
The casting process was challenging because we did this all in top secret.
Kim is referring to perhaps Aangs most formidable foe of all: puberty.
There was no way we could do that.
One way to do that was Sozins Comet, which played a prominent role in the animated series.
The comet was their ticking clock, Kim continues.
In hindsight, the casting seems like the easy part.
Actually bringing these characters to life with the appropriate elemental bending was the challenge.
Liu describes it as a mix of Northern Shaolin kung fu and wushu styles.
Meanwhile, Raisani researched how elements move in the real world.
We all understand how water moves in our world.
It’s a really hard thing to get right.
Shout-out tothe Avatarist, he says of the YouTube page dedicated to the world ofAvatar.
The whole cast watches him, and we really love that guy!
(If you know, you know.)
Though they may mean that genuinely, thats also a line from the song.
Much like that boomerang, it seems as if everything is coming full circle.
Additional reporting by Sydney Bucksbaum.
