The New ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Sequel Sounds Like a Gift to My Inner Child
Avatar: The last air shed will receive another sequel to original creators Michael Dimartino and Bryan Konietzko. To mark the 20th anniversary of the series, Nickelodeon announced the next series Avatar: Seven Paradises, one of the earliest releases of Avatar Studios. The new show will focus on a young Earthbender who becomes the next incarnation after Korra.
I’ve always been a fan of Avatar: The Last Air Shed since the kids, and I love watching Aang, his friends take risks and learn to bend these four elements. The show has it all: magic-infused martial arts, flying bison, Secret tunnel and the kids try to save the world. Twenty years later, it works very well. (recent Live adaptation Convincing, but I think it lacks some of the charm of the original show. )
I’m just as passionate about the sequel series The Legend of Kora, which was 70 years after Atla. Korra aims toward more mature political themes and adolescent/early main cast. I like to immerse myself in its urban steampunk environment, where members of four countries live in harmony among the republic cities (ok, “harmony” may not be very accurate – the city attacked many times).
However, the Avatar Universe changed in the last season of Kora. Although the story itself is strong and puts Cora’s character arc at a proper angle, sometimes I feel like her world technology has masked the curve. As competitors of the futuristic airbox engage in an epic battle with the machinery of towering energy cannons, the show begins to feel more like science fiction. There is nothing wrong with this – I love science fiction – but for Avatar, it’s not the right choice, traditionally a series that communicates with the source of myth in fantasy.
This is why Avatar’s premise: Seven Heavens sound like the perfect way to reset the universe. This is from Nickelodeon:
Avatar: The seven safe havens are set in a world that is devastatingly devastated. A young Earthbender discovers that she is the new incarnation after Korra – but in this dangerous era, the title marks her as a destroyer of humanity, not its savior. Hunted by human and spiritual enemies, she and her long-lost twins must uncover their mysterious origins and save seven safe havens before the last fortress of civilization collapses.
We know that seven safe havens will be set up sometime after Cora, but we don’t know when. Stand out, the new avatar is no longer as respected by society as her ex. If she is labeled “the destroyer of humanity”, we can assume that Cora is accused of being a world-shattering event. The new premise is an interesting twist in the traditional heroic Avatar story, though not without priority: Aang and Korra are both fugitives in their respective series.
The summary also implies that the technology of the seven safe havens has taken a step back. While I don’t know what life is like in the “Last Stand of Civilization”, I’m sure we won’t see another skyscraper-sized machine.
Before the seven safe havensAnnounced, I wonder if Korra’s sequel will feel more future-proof. I worry that bending will disappear into the world context of modern technology. I’m glad that a brief look at the new series shows that technological, possibly post-apocalyptic environments. This would be a great way to visually distinguish the seven safe havens. I hope we’ll see more Atla magic and myths. Dimartino and Konietzko are talented world builders and I’m excited about what we have to offer us.
