The Tales and Troubles of Adapting Avatar The Last Airbender

Water, earth, fire, air. Long ago (2005 to be precise), an animated show was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Konietzko and it ran peacefully and successfully for 3 seasons on Nickelodeon. Then, everything changed when Netflix decided to do a live action show of it, after the horrible failure that was the previous film live action of the show. Only the original creators could save this new live action, but when the fans needed them most, they stepped down from the Netflix project due to creative differences. I’ll stop quoting the Avatar: The Last Airbender opening theme, but I’m sure you get what I’m trying to get at here. Since 2018, Netflix’s live action of the beloved animated show has been in the works, and to say that it’s been a rollercoaster for fans of the original would be an understatement.

After the critically unsuccessful M. Night Shyamalan live action film in 2010, fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender were cautious when hearing about Netflix’s live action show under development. However, tensions were soon eased when it was reported that Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Konietzko, the original creators of the Nickelodeon show, would be coming in as executive producers and showrunners. Sadly, the honeymoon period of production and hopes for an accurate adaptation were short-lived. This past August, the creative duo announced that they would step down from the project due to creative differences with Netflix. A statement like this should come as a shock, considering Netflix has been praised by several of its past creators for the creative freedom and lack of studio boundaries they’ve provided (Sergio Pablos from Klaus, Bong Joon Ho with Ojka, etc.).

So why the change of heart with a project that has not only a successful and acclaimed legacy, but also two strong creators at the helm? While no one may ever know the full answer to this question, some theories have been thrown around since the duo stepped down, cut ties with the production, and Netflix announced the first change to the original material. In the animated show, the main protagonists are Aang, age 12 (112 if you count the years in the ice), Katara, age 14, and her brother Sokka, age 15. This age dynamic between the three adds volumes of character traits to each, from Aang’s attraction to Katara to Katara’s role as a parental figure in the group despite her young age compared to Sokka. Recently, Netflix announced that they intend on switching Katara and Sokka’s ages, making Katara 16 and Sokka 14. Out of this piece of news, fans have speculated Netflix is attempting to give Avatar: The Last Airbender the Riverdale treatment by aging up characters and creating romantic and perhaps even sexual relationships between them, in this case Katara and Zuko, another main character who happens to be 16 in the original show. This worries many people, and with reason, because a change of this magnitude would not only change the plot of the original but also shift attention away from some of the show’s themes and plotlines.

As an Avatar fan, I’m upset at this possibility, but it doesn’t compare to how upset I am at this as a creator myself. While I have not yet reached the status of Konietzko and DiMartino in the entertainment industry, I look up to them as role models of what a creator and director should be. Seeing them go through a situation where their work, which they poured their hearts and souls into, is being mishandled and turned into something barely recognizable breaks my heart. Not to mention that this is not the first time the duo’s opinions and ideas on their own creation have been ignored, as M. Night Shyamalan’s 2010 film notoriously refrained from including the original creators. This sort of unjust treatment of creators who have made successful and memorable pieces of media only to have movie studios butcher their work and ignore any creative direction is nothing new. The most notable example that comes to mind is Rick Riordan and his beloved book series Percy Jackson & the Olympians. In 2010, apparently the year of inaccurate film adaptations, the first Percy Jackson movie was released, leaving fans of the original series disappointed by the numerous changes in the story. A particular bone fans had to pick with the production was the baffling aging-up of the characters, taking Percy from 12 to 16 without any reasonable explanation. This story comes to mind when thinking about the future of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender because in the case of Percy Jackson, the original creator was essentially shunned from production. While he was given the first script and asked for notes, his notes, ideas, and questions about changes were ignored and looked over. Needless to say, this film franchise did not succeed, which makes me wonder, is there any hope for this new Avatar adaptation?

The Netflix show has not even begun filming, so there is always the possibility that my assessment on their actions is wrong. However, as a fan that has stood by slowly seeing a piece of media they love turn into something entirely different, my expectations and hopes are not high. There is however one silver lining in this situation, which gives me hope for the future of other creators who are given the opportunity to adapt their material and work into a different medium. A few days after Netflix’s announcement to change the ages of the lead characters in Avatar, Nickelodeon announced the launch of Avatar Studios, a new division of the company led by Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Konietzko with the purpose of expanding the universe the duo created in their original animated show. Netflix may do its show and change countless things about the original material, but it puts a smile on my face that the original creators will still have a strong platform to develop their work and create more content around the universe they built and love.

While adaptations sometimes require changes, this narrative of ignoring original creators seems to be repeating itself. Change can be good, but in cases like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Percy Jackson, these changes go directly against the wishes of the original creators, not because they’re stubborn and refuse to work with others, but rather because they feel these changes jeopardize the integrity and heart of their original work. As a fan and aspiring creator, it’s disheartening to see big studios take content, capitalize off of it, and then butcher the original material. Netflix’s case in particular is interesting, considering how many fans of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender stream the show on Netflix. It’s almost as if the company said, “we’ll promote this because it’s successful, but we will most definitely change it to appeal to the Riverdale, darker, grittier model of shows that seem to be popular at the moment.”

A basic principle of adaptations should be that original creators deserve a seat at the table when making decisions on what their work turns into. This is not to say original creators should be the only ones sitting at the table; teamwork is crucial when producing content, especially when taking it from one medium to another. However, this is to say that as creators it is only right that they are able to voice their opinions, concerns, and ideas, but more importantly that they are heard and acknowledged. In addition, fans of original content should always be considered when adapting material, at the end of the day they’re the ones who’ll watch the shows and movies, which they will stop doing if the material they love is simply not there. Different studios and companies may know the business and how to market a live action and an adaptation, but no one knows the material and content like its creators and fans.