# Live-Action "Avatar: The Last Airbender" due out in 2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 24, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386 "2009-09-24T16:43:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/1 "2009-09-24T16:43:25Z")
Another cartoon goes live action. [Shyamalan Talks Live-Action Avatar: The Last Airbender](http://www.beyondhollywood.com/shyamalan-talks-live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender/) > [@](#): > > “The actual plot is in a place where there are four tribes of people. And these people each have people within their tribe that have mastery over one element: water, earth, fire or air. They all live in a balance and harmony and once every generation there is born an individual who can bend – that is manipulate – all four of those elements and thereby keep a balance between all. They are kind of a Buddha figure to some extent. The story is about how, in this particular time, this avatar is born into the airbenders and disappears. Then all hell breaks loose and the fire nation basically commits genocide and eradicates the air tribe in the hopes of killing the avatar and taking over control of everything. This child then re-emerges, which is the beginning of our story. He reappears having been frozen in the ice — there is a whole story about how that happens — a hundred years later and this world is all fucked up and he is the last airbender, but he doesn’t want this job. He’s forced into the position of putting the world back together again. It actually has a lot of Shakespearean overtones to it. There’s lots of family angst, and fathers denying sons in different storylines.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/2 "2009-09-24T17:11:02Z")
The [trailer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF5LX7ElVCM) looks absolutely phenomenal. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/3 "2009-09-24T17:51:26Z")
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**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/4 "2009-09-24T18:05:25Z")
I think it worked a lot better in episodic form then it would in a film, but we’ll see. Shamaylan has made like eight crappy movies since Sixth Sense, so he’s due for another hit, right? Also, glancing at wikipedia, it looks like its at least tentatively planned as a trilogy. If the first installment is successful, they’re gonna have to work pretty fast to churn out two more movies before the actor playing Ang hits puberty and ends up being six feet tall. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/5 "2009-09-24T18:30:33Z")
On the plus side, it’s an Avatar: The Last Airbender movie. On the minus side, Shyamalan is making it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/6 "2009-09-24T18:35:06Z")
Visually, Shyamalan is a fantastic director. It’s the stories where his films fall apart. If he has a sufficiently small role in writing this movie, it could work out really great. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/7 "2009-09-24T18:39:09Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > The [trailer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF5LX7ElVCM) looks absolutely phenomenal. It looks cool, but given M. Night’s previous movie history, I’m worried the entire tone of the movie will be different from the series. I’m kinda late to the Avatar parade, but it’s a rare show that is great to watch with my kids. I like it, they like it, it’s actually kinda deep and still has a goofy sense of humor that the kids like and I can forgive (I’m still using the term "Sparky, Sparky Boom Man). I was shocked to see it deal with stuff like kids stressing out and betrayal and redemption; stuff that can help you talk to your kids about their lives (although mine a bit too young for some of the stuff). And if I had a dollar for everytime the girls and I play “Airbender” I’d be a rich man. I’m surprised how great a series it is. I am worried that the things that make it a good animated series for us will be ruined on the big screen. And that trailer makes it look like it focuses way too much on the cool martial arts, the revenge, and the special effects, and not on the stuff I like it for. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/8 "2009-09-24T20:16:02Z")
It’s be kind of nice if it were a prequel, instead of just going over the same ground the series already did. Why would anyone take a TV show and turn it into a movie _with the exact same story_? But unfortunately, judging from Shamarandomletters saying that the story begins with Ang awakening from the iceberg, it looks like he is doing it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/9 "2009-09-24T20:52:45Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Visually, Shyamalan is a fantastic director. It’s the stories where his films fall apart. If he has a sufficiently small role in writing this movie, it could work out really great. I agree - he’s one filmmaker who needs \*less \*creative control. He should let other people write and direct his movies, and just stick to directing - which he’s actually pretty good at. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/10 "2009-09-25T04:18:28Z")
Tenth post and no mention of racefail yet? What a breath of fresh air! Basically the Avatar fandom is enraged because most of the actors aren’t Asian and the studio’s concession was to cast Dev Patel, the actor from Slumdog Millionaire, as the villain. This caused more rage about how the only main cast member to be ethnically correct is the bad guy, thus making it a white people against coloured people movie. I guess I’m suffering from a case of white privilege here, but I don’t care what ethnicity the actors are, as long as the movie is good. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/11 "2009-09-25T04:52:17Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > Tenth post and no mention of racefail yet? What a breath of fresh air! > > Basically the Avatar fandom is enraged because most of the actors aren’t Asian and the studio’s concession was to cast Dev Patel, the actor from Slumdog Millionaire, as the villain. This caused more rage about how the only main cast member to be ethnically correct is the bad guy, thus making it a white people against coloured people movie. > > I guess I’m suffering from a case of white privilege here, but I don’t care what ethnicity the actors are, as long as the movie is good. I’d say that its a fair complaint. Aang and the airbenders were apparently Tibetan; the watertribe were Inuit-type people and Kitara and Sokka were portrayed as dark-skinned. The Earth Benders corresponded to China. No clue about the fire-benders; they seemed to be caucasian. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/12 "2009-09-25T05:04:43Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I’d say that its a fair complaint. Aang and the airbenders were apparently Tibetan; the watertribe were Inuit-type people and Kitara and Sokka were portrayed as dark-skinned. The Earth Benders corresponded to China. No clue about the fire-benders; they seemed to be caucasian. Earth Benders and Fire Benders were both inspired by China at different eras. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/13 "2009-09-25T05:36:40Z")
I wish Hollywood would start coming up with their own damn ideas. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/14 "2009-09-25T05:36:59Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > Earth Benders and Fire Benders were both inspired by China at different eras. May I respectfully ask you to elaborate? Namaste. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/15 "2009-09-25T06:01:50Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > Tenth post and no mention of racefail yet? What a breath of fresh air! > > Basically the Avatar fandom is enraged because most of the actors aren’t Asian and the studio’s concession was to cast Dev Patel, the actor from Slumdog Millionaire, as the villain. This caused more rage about how the only main cast member to be ethnically correct is the bad guy, thus making it a white people against coloured people movie. > > I guess I’m suffering from a case of white privilege here, but I don’t care what ethnicity the actors are, as long as the movie is good. The thing I don’t get about that complaint is that, of the major characters, there’s only one physical characteristic among them that’s inextricably tied to a particular ethnicity: Sokka and Kitara’s bright blue eyes. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/16 "2009-09-26T06:35:54Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The thing I don’t get about that complaint is that, of the major characters, there’s only one physical characteristic among them that’s inextricably tied to a particular ethnicity: Sokka and Kitara’s bright blue eyes. Can you elaborate please? I don’t think I quite get what you mean. In the animated series, Sokka and Kitara are portrayed as dusky (I can’t think of a better term) skinned. Does their having blue eyes make them caucasian? Or some other persuasion? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/17 "2009-09-26T06:51:55Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Can you elaborate please? I don’t think I quite get what you mean. In the animated series, Sokka and Kitara are portrayed as dusky (I can’t think of a better term) skinned. Does their having blue eyes make them caucasian? Or some other persuasion? It seems like he’s saying that pretty much anybody can be ambiguously dark-skinded, but only whitey is blue-eyed. I tentatively agree with him which sort of makes this a funny reverse - what was the term? - “racefail.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/18 "2009-09-26T07:07:17Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Can you elaborate please? I don’t think I quite get what you mean. In the animated series, Sokka and Kitara are portrayed as dusky (I can’t think of a better term) skinned. Does their having blue eyes make them caucasian? Or some other persuasion? I’m not sure what needs elaboration. People are complaining that these characters aren’t white in the cartoon. But blue eyes are pretty much a uniquely white characteristic. They are dark complected, but certainly not outside the range you can find among white people. I do think that the characters in general were intentionally designed so as not to be able to easily pigeonhole them into any real world ethnicity, because they’re not from this world. They aren’t “Caucasian,” because there are no Caucus mountains on their planet. By the same token, there’s no Asia there, either. Once you start casting real people as these characters, you’re going to start bringing real-world ethnicities into it, and there’s no particular reason to insist that their not-particularly-dark skin means they can’t possibly be played by white actors, when their unmistakably blue eyes rule out just about any non-white actor. Not that it’s an insurmountable problem, either way. Cast an Asian actor and give him blue contacts, or cast a white actor and have him get a good tan. It’s just a silly thing to latch on to as proof that the movies is going to be OMG TEH SUXXORS! ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/19 "2009-09-26T08:04:10Z")
Shayamanalamanalanaman has lost all credibility as a director, in my opinion. I can’t think of a single director who has fallen so far, and in such a short time too. It’s astonishing the way he wrecked his reputation. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386/20 "2009-09-26T14:52:35Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > Tenth post and no mention of racefail yet? What a breath of fresh air! > > Basically the Avatar fandom is enraged because most of the actors aren’t Asian and the studio’s concession was to cast Dev Patel, the actor from Slumdog Millionaire, as the villain. This caused more rage about how the only main cast member to be ethnically correct is the bad guy, thus making it a white people against coloured people movie. > > I guess I’m suffering from a case of white privilege here, but I don’t care what ethnicity the actors are, as long as the movie is good. I’m against factional racemongering as a general principle, but it is indisputable that Avatar has strong ties to Asia - for one, look [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Avatar_world_map.jpg). > [@](#): > > This picture of the map was provided by Nickelodeon to all that purchased the Avatar: The Last Airbender Complete Book 1 Collection That said just because they are right doesn’t make the antics of the fandom less silly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-action-avatar-the-last-airbender-due-out-in-2010/511386.md?page=2)