Posted in: Anime, Netflix, Preview, TV | Tagged: anime, avatar, daniel dae kim, last airbender, netflix

Avatar: The Last Airbender Live-Action Series Welcomes Daniel Dae Kim

Netflix and Albert Kim (Sleepy Hollow, Nikita) are welcoming Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-0, Hot Zone: Anthrax) to their reimagined live-action take on Nickelodeon's animated Avatar: The Last Airbender. Kim's Fire Lord Ozai is the ruthlessly-driven leader of the Fire Nation who demands everyone live up to his impossible standards, especially his teen son, Prince Zuko. Ozai's drive to conquer and unite the world under firebender rule is a family burden — he believes that it's his destiny to finish a war started by his ancestors.

Daniel Dae Kim joins a cast that includes Gordon Cormier (Gabby Duran and the Unsittables), Kiawentiio (Beans), Ian Ousley (Physical), and Dallas Liu (PEN15)- with a full cast rundown below. With Kim serving as showrunner, executive producer, and writer of the series, Rideback's Dan Lin (The Lego Movie, Aladdin) and Lindsey Liberatore (Walker), as well as Michael Goi (Swamp Thing, American Horror Story), will also executive produce. Goi, Roseanne Liang, Jet Wilkinson, and Jabbar Raisani have been tapped to direct

Cormier's Aang is a fearless and fun-loving twelve-year-old who just happens to be the Avatar, master of all four elements & the keeper of balance and peace in the world. An airbending prodigy, Aang is a reluctant hero, struggling to deal with the burden of his duties while still holding on to his adventurous and playful nature.

Kiawentiio's Katara is a determined and hopeful waterbender, the last in her small village. Though only fourteen, she's already endured great personal tragedy, which has held her back from rising to her true potential, though it's never dimmed her warm and caring spirit.

Ousley's Sokka is Katara's sardonic and resourceful 16-year-old brother. Outwardly confident, even brash, he takes his responsibility as the leader of his tribe seriously, despite his inner doubts over his warrior skills… doubts that he masks with his wit and deadpan sense of
humor.

Liu's Zuko is a skilled firebender and the intense and guarded Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Currently roaming the world in exile, he's on an obsessive quest to capture the Avatar because he believes that is the only way to reclaim his life and live up to the demands of his cruel and controlling father, the Fire Lord.

"A live-action version would establish a new benchmark in representation and bring in a whole new generation of fans," Kim wrote in a blog post about the importance of having a cast of Asian or Indigenous backgrounds directly involved with the live-action adaptation. "This was a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly exists, very similar to the one we live in."

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