Paramount and Nickelodeon have announced that three new animated Avatar films are in development.
According to Variety, the films are in development under Nickelodeon Animation’s Avatar Studios, which was formed back in 2021 to focus on creating original content based around the universe of 2005’s Avatar: The Last Airbender and its 2012 follow-up The Legend of Korra.
The Last Airbender first aired in 2005 and ended in 2008. Drawing inspiration from Japanese anime, DiMartino and Konietzko created the Emmy Award-winning series centered on a young boy named Aang, the chosen Avatar, and his friends – Katara, Sokka, and Toph, who help the young Airbender save the nations of their world from the Fire Nation’s wrath. In this world, four elements – water, fire, earth, and air – are controlled by a chosen few. However, only the “Avatar” can channel all four of the elements. Aang, the Avatar in question, finds himself in charge of establishing peace amongst nations and serving as a liaison between the material and spiritual realms. The Legend of Korra was a spin-off series that ran from 2012 to 2014.
“As original creators, Mike and Bryan expand the ‘Avatar’ universe with us, we’re keeping it all in the family with Lauren bringing the same kind of expert, beautiful work she did on the original series to her new directing duties on the forthcoming theatrical,” Ramsey Naito, president of animation & development at Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation, said in an announcement.
According to EW, all three films will be separate stories as opposed to a unified K, Further plot details are being kept under wraps.
It was also announced last year that Nickelodeon had started to lay the groundwork for an “Avatar Airbender universe” that would encompass multiple TV series and movies across a variety of platforms. Avatar Studios leaders Konietzko and DiMartino noted that “there are still many stories and time periods in Aang’s world” to be covered on-screen.
Netflix also has a live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender in the works, however, Konietzko and DiMartino previously departed that project, citing creative differences as the reason for their exit.
