Netflix‘s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series has officially cast three major roles, as production on the show has now begun.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (The Mandalorian) will play Uncle Iroh, the retired Fire Nation general and the all-knowing apprentice to his quick-tempered nephew, Prince Zuko. Lim Kay Siu (Anna and The King) will assume the role of Gyatso, the loving Air Nomad monk who acts as a father figure to Aang. Ken Leung (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will depict Commander Zhao, the conniving Fire Nation officer who places his personal goals first during a run-in with a distressed Prince Zuko.
The newly announced cast members will join Gordon Cormier (Aang), Kiawentiio (Katara), Ian Ousley (Sokka), Dallas Liu (Zuko) and Daniel Dae Kim (Fire Lord Ozai) in the series.
Albert Kim, whose previous work includes Sleepy Hollow, Deadly Class and Nikita, will act as the series’ writer, executive producer and showrunner. In a blog post, Kim previously revealed that he first became a fan of the show after watching the series with his daughter.
“Flash forward 15 years. Netflix offers me the opportunity to develop a live-action remake of Avatar. My first thought was, ‘Why? What is there I could do or say with the story that wasn’t done or said in the original?’” he said. “A:TLA had only grown in popularity and acclaim over the last decade and a half, which is a testament to how complete and resonant a narrative experience it had been. So if it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
“But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became,” he added. “VFX technology has advanced to the point where a live-action version can not only faithfully translate what had been done in animation — it can bring a rich new visual dimension to a fantastic world. We’ll be able to see bending in a real and visceral way we’ve never seen before.”
Netflix has not yet disclosed a release date for Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Elsewhere in entertainment, Netflix has launched a weekly top 10 list website for most-watched films and TV shows.
