Avatar Aang spinoffs are brewing as creators tease more stories
The Avatar Aang team says more projects are in development, including a new series set in another era of the animated universe.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
The Avatar Aang spinoffs pipeline is already heating up, with co-creator Bryan Konietzko saying at Variety Studio, presented by Google TV, that more projects are being developed inside the animated universe.
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is now streaming on Paramount+ and playing in select theaters after premiering Friday at San Diego Comic-Con. The film follows adult versions of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph and Zuko after Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender and before The Legend of Korra.
The voice cast includes Eric Nam as Aang, Jessica Matten as Katara, Román Zaragoza as Sokka, Dionne Quan as Toph and Steven Yeun as Zuko. Dave Bautista voices Tagah, another long-lost airbender discovered by the group in the movie.
What Avatar Aang spinoffs are in the works?
Konietzko said the team is waiting to see how Avatar Aang performs before moving ahead with additional movies, but added that several ideas are already in development. He said there is one script the team feels strong about, and that he is working on a series set in a different time period.
Konietzko said the Avatar world still gives the creators room to explore new eras and tones, even after 24 years with the franchise. Paramount+ also has another sequel series, Avatar: Seven Havens, scheduled to premiere on Oct. 9.
Michael Dante DiMartino and Konietzko launched Avatar Studios in 2021 after stepping away from Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation. Avatar Aang had first been planned for a 2025 theatrical release, but after delays, the rollout shifted to Paramount+ before Paramount added a limited theater run that would make it eligible for awards consideration, according to Variety.
Why was Katara almost pregnant in Avatar Aang?
DiMartino said the creative team considered making Katara pregnant with her and Aang’s first child, Bumi, because the film ages the characters beyond their teenage years. He said the idea was dropped because it pushed the characters too quickly into a later stage of adulthood.
Konietzko said the story also risked giving Katara’s pregnancy the wrong meaning. He said the team wanted Aang and Katara to start a family because they wanted one, not because the plot needed her to give birth to an airbender.
Konietzko added that placing a pregnant Katara in battle scenes with Tagah created a problem the team did not want, including a version of the story that moved toward a damsel-in-distress setup.
Director Lauren Montgomery said the choice leaves space for later stories about Aang and Katara’s relationship. She noted that viewers of The Legend of Korra already know where that relationship leads, and said there are still many stories left to tell.
What happened with the Avatar Aang leak?
Clips from Avatar Aang appeared on social media in April before the full film spread online, according to Variety. A 26-year-old man was later arrested in Singapore over the alleged illegal access of a media server and the film’s leak; no response from the arrested man was included in Variety’s report.
Nam urged fans to watch the official release rather than the unauthorized version. He said waiting for the proper release was a way to respect the artists who spent years making the film, and thanked fans who held out.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.