Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender

Background and development

In 2018, Netflix announced that a live-action remake of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008) was to start production in 2019.^[7][8] The series' original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, were initially announced to be the executive producers and showrunners.^[9][10] In June 2020, the creators departed the series due to creative differences.^[11] That same year, Nickelodeon licensed the original The Last Airbender as well as The Legend of Korra (2012–14) to Netflix, which led to a boom in popularity for both series. This success convinced Nickelodeon to rekindle their relationship with Konietzko and DiMartino and explore further opportunities.^[12][13]

In February 2021, ViacomCBS announced during its annual Investor Day the formation of Avatar Studios, a new division of Nickelodeon dedicated to the creation of projects based on animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. The series creators and executive producers Konietzko and DiMartino would serve as co-chief creative officers. It was also announced that the first project of the studio is an animated theatrical film that would begin production later in 2021.^[14][15] Original series executive producer Eric Coleman takes executive producer credit, with Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, Latifa Ouaou, and Maryann Garger as the film's producers.^[16][3][17]

In June 2022, it was announced that Lauren Montgomery, who was a storyboard artist on the original series and a supervising producer for Korra, would serve as director.^[18] In July 2022, Janet Varney, the voice of Korra, revealed that the plot of the film would revolve around the original series' characters.^[19][20] A sneak peek of the film was revealed at Paramount Pictures' CinemaCon presentation in April 2023, confirming that the film would follow the characters in their young adulthood.^[21][22] In April 2024, it was reported that William Mata would serve as co-director, alongside Montgomery.^[16] In April 2025, the title of the film was announced as The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender.^[23]

In March 2026, Montgomery revealed that production had wrapped and the final cut of the film had been screened for the entire cast and crew.^[24] Posts from the screening by Eric Nam and Román Zaragoza revealed that the film had been retitled Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender.^[25][26]

Casting

In May 2023, Mae Whitman, the original voice actress for Katara, confirmed that she will not be reprising the role. She remarked that despite cherishing her experience, Whitman was excited to see "actors come in, who honestly fit the role much better" as she expressed an interest to have an actress of color to succeed her.^[27] The following year at CinemaCon in April 2024, Paramount announced the casting of Eric Nam as Aang, Dionne Quan as Toph Beifong, Jessica Matten as Katara, Román Zaragoza as Sokka, and Dave Bautista as the antagonist.^[3][16] In March 2025, Variety reported that Steven Yeun, who had previously voiced Avatar Wan in The Legend of Korra, joined the cast in an undisclosed role.^[17] He was later confirmed to be voicing Zuko four months later, succeeding the character's original voice actor Dante Basco.^[4] Later that December, more additional actors were announced to join the film, consisting of Taika Waititi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Freida Pinto, Ke Huy Quan, Peta Sergeant, and Dee Bradley Baker.^[5] Baker was revealed to be reprising his roles as Appa and Momo from the original series.^[2]

According to the film's casting director, Jenny Jue, the decision to recast the principal characters was on behalf of DiMartino and Konietzko. This direction was influenced by the increased emphasis on matching voice actors' ethnic and racial backgrounds to those of the characters they portray, a topic that arose in the industry in the years since the conclusion of the original series. Jue said, "ATLA is a fictional world, but there are cultural influences for each nation/kingdom, and we wanted to explore the talent from those groups".^[28][29]

Animation

In October 2022, it was reported that Flying Bark Productions in Sydney, Australia, would primarily provide the animation for the film.^[30] In May 2025, it was reported that Studio Mir in Seoul, South Korea, which previously provided animation for The Legend of Korra, would also provide additional animation support for the film.^[31] Alexia Gates-Foale, director of production for Flying Bark, said that working on the film will be "a dream project" for the studio due to multiple employees being fans of the franchise. The animation style used in the feature combines 2D hand-drawn animated characters with 3D computer-animated environments, courtesy of Deep Canvas technology.^[32][30] Deep Canvas and this hybrid style of animation production was pioneered at Walt Disney Animation Studios (CAPS), and had extensively been used in titles such as Tarzan (1999) and Treasure Planet (2002).^[33]

Music

Jeremy Zuckerman, who composed for the animated series, was revealed to be serving as the film's composer in November 2025. Zuckerman said that he was granted full access to an orchestra, stating that the bigger budget for the film enables him to try new things he could not do on the television series due to technological limits at the time.^[34]

Online leak

On April 12, 2026, portions of the film were leaked on X, with the leaker claiming that Nickelodeon accidentally emailed them the film.^[41] The leak revealed Bautista and Waititi's characters in the film, as well as Team Avatar being together.^[2] On April 13, reports emerged that the full film had leaked online in high quality.^[42] Following the leak, many fans and commentators used the positive reception of the footage to advocate for a reversal of the decision to not show the film in cinemas, arguing the "cinematic" quality of the animation warranted a big-screen release.^[43] However, the leak drew sharp condemnation from the film’s production staff and animators, who argued that the unauthorized release disrespected years of professional labor and undermined the project's official launch. Animator Julia Schoel and artist Tom Barkel criticized the leak as "disrespectful", with Barkel noting that bypassing official releases could jeopardize future work for artists in a "hostile industry". Other crew members, including Henry Thurlow, Ilkwang Kim, and Tessa Bright, expressed that the leak robbed the creators of the professional milestone of a formal premiere and urged fans to wait for the official release to support the artists' efforts.^[40]

By April 16, an internal investigation by Paramount concluded that the leak was not caused by a vulnerability in their own systems, though the film was widely mirrored across the internet despite copyright takedown efforts. The incident drew comparisons to a 2017 breach of Netflix's Orange Is the New Black, as it represented a major title being compromised months in advance.^[44] Michaela Jill Murphy, the original voice actress of Toph Beifong, condemned the leak and sent a message on social media to urge fans not to share art or clips of the film.^[45] During a panel at Supanova Expo that same week, Murphy expressed support to the film being officially released into theaters based on words of encouragement by co-star Olivia Hack, the voice actress of Ty Lee.^[46] The following week on April 24, a 26-year old man, identified as the person responsible for the leak of the film, was arrested in Singapore for accessing a media server without authorization. If convicted, he can face up to 7 years in prison, a fine of up to $50,000, or both.^[47][48]