Written by Kianna Best on Feb 26, 2024. Posted in Production News

Netflix releases live action anime remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender

Netflix have released their take on beloved animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender with a live action series. Shot in British Columbia, the Albert Kim created series is directed by Michael Goi, Roseanne Liang, Jabbar Raisani and Jet Wilkinson. Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio and Ian Ousley take on the roles of main trio Aang, Katara and Sokka, with well known names Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Daniel Dae Kim also included in the cast.

For such iconic locations featured in the original series, such as the Northern Water Tribes North Pole home and mountain top Southern Air Temple, the series travelled to British Columbia, making use of local studio facilities to help bring the world to life. Pixomonodo’s (PXO) custom built virtual production facility in Vancouver was enlisted to aid production, contributing to some of the larger than life scenes recreated for the streaming screen. In addition to the recent Avatar venture PXO have also leant their VFX expertise to Game of Thrones, Amazon’s The Boys and Gran Turismo, among many others.

In a fantasy world of flying bison and elemental powers, Avatar: The Last Airbender follows the trials that Aang, played by Cormier, and his friends Katara taken on by Kiawentiio and Ousley as Sokka, face. From the animated world, one of the most impressive feats that has been recreated for the live action remake is the presence of 10-tonne flying bison named Appa. A combination of a tangible prop creation and VFX, the creation of Aang’s furry friend was a collaborative effort between executive producer Jabbar Raisani and the VFX team. Whilst the trio of friends had the opportunity to interact with the bison somewhat in real life, the lemur like creature Momo, who also returns to the live action remake, was completely created with visual effects.

In addition to executive producing, Raisani serves as director alongside Michael Goi, Roseanne Liang and Jet Wilkinson. Showrunner Kim, also serves as writer for the recently released series in addition to Michale Dante DiMartino, Audrey Wong Kennedy, Bryan Konietzko, Christine Boylan, Joshus Hale Fialkov, Emily Kim, Gabriel Llanas, Ubah Mohamed and Hunter Ries.