AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER Showrunner Talks ‘Utterly Daunting’ Task It Was To Take On After Creators Left

Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Netflix’s highly anticipated live-action series adaptation Avatar: The Last Airbender. But it was a difficult road getting there, as the show’s leader was put in the position to step up despite the loss of its creators. Bryan Konietzko AND Michele Dante Di Martino spent two years developing the live-action adaptation of the animated classic for Netflix before shocking fans by announcing their exit from the project due to creative differences. The decision stood Alberto Kim (Pantheon, The sleeping valley) as the showrunner of the live-action series without the support of the franchise’s original visionaries. He said it recently Entertainment weekly that it was “absolutely” discouraging to continue the show without them.

He explained:

“You’d have to be an idiot not to be intimidated even a little. My first reaction after “Hell yes!” was “Holy shit!” Do I really want to do this? Is there a way to improve the original?’ Every time you tackle something that’s already loved by millions of fans, you have to ask yourself these questions.”

Variety reports that when Konietzko and DiMartino left the live-action show, they published an open letter explaining their decision, in which DiMartino stated that they “could not control the creative direction of the series.”

“When Bryan and I joined the project in 2018, we were hired as executive producers and showrunners,” DiMartino wrote. “In a joint announcement for the series, Netflix said it was committed to honoring our vision for this reimagining and supporting us in creating the series. And we expressed how excited we were about the opportunity to be at the helm. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as we hoped.”

DiMartino called leaving the project “the hardest professional decision I’ve ever had to make,” adding, “Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatars it has the potential to be good. It may turn out to be a show that many of you will enjoy. But what I can be sure of is that whatever version ends up on screen, it won’t be what Bryan and I envisioned or intended to make.”

Konietzko and DiMartino have since continued to run Avatar Studios, where they are developing several new cartoons Avatars projects. An animated feature film will be released in 2025.

In her interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kim said:

“All of our writers are also fans of the original, so they drew on their own personal experiences and the things they love most. We don’t start the show the way the animated series starts. It was a conscious decision to show people that this is not the animated series. Sometimes we had to unravel plots and remix them in a new way to make sense of a serialized drama. So I’m very curious to see what happens in terms of the reaction to all of this.”

Are you looking forward to seeing this adaptation of the series? Avatar: The Last Airbender will begin streaming on Netflix on February 22nd.