Reflection and Analysis

AtLA Live Action - What? High School AU - Oh Noes! (6/27/2021)

There's apparently new information regarding the Netflix live action adaption for Avatar: The Last Airbender. As for my opinion—

I don't want an alternative universe which takes place in a modern setting. Like, no thank you.

Of course, we're also talking unconfirmed rumors that may not actually pan out—that I hope don't pan out. Yet, as I read over the supposed descriptions, I can't help but notice that the character synopsis sound like a character synopsis given to an actor or actress participating in a casting calls and—

Wouldn't these be for young actors and actresses so that they would understand the role they are trying out for?

Emphasis here on the words "understand" here, because as I read over the summaries there is pretty much everything a young actor with little to no knowledge of the series would need to know about the character, though I'll argue finding a child actor or actress who doesn't know about the series is—like trying to find an actor or actress for the Harry Potter series without them knowing about Harry Potter.

As I read over this, I also have to wonder if there's a possibility, they're trying to hide the casting call. By this I mean make it so people don't realize that this is Avatar the Last Airbender they're doing a casting call for. Well, the agents would know that the young actor or actress they are representing is trying out for Avatar the Last Airbender, but may have been informed to minimize what the actor or actress knows going in. We don't even know if the names are kept when given to the young actor of actress, do we?

What this would do is continue to keep things under wraps, cut down on auditions from a fan of the series who wants to be their favorite character. Yes, there are some keywords in there that do indicate this may be a modern setting AU – blech – yet they don't always refer to a modern setting, but instead a specific character type or a specific plot device regardless of whether it is in a modern setting or not.

Of course, I admit here that I'm being overly optimistic in what I've said. I'm not, though, trying to put a positive spin on it but simply thinking of an alternative. The adoptive parents for example could be the monks, it being a supernatural event that kills Katara's mother could be how she remembers things. The takeaway here is that we don't know yet, particularly if this was an intentional leak to throw us off.

And – well, there is one positive going for the live action already.

Diverse Casting

We were promised this would be the case and we're getting it. I can't tell you how afraid I was that Katara and Sokka for that matter would be Black just to win some SJW points because that's the woke thing to do when in reality it would be the unwoke thing to do. I'm referring to the fact woke means being awake or aware of the whole situation rather than only part of this, and while there are times to champion Black actors and actresses, there are times other POC should be championed instead.

Of course, something else I want people to keep in mind is that the words "heritage" should include people who are full or partial heritage, so be wary of attacking someone because they don't look the ideal.

Could it still go wrong?

Yes.

The thing is, people have already decided the project will be a failure long before we've gotten any real information, as if they want the project to fail.

No, seriously.

They talk about how it will fail because its live action. They talk about how it will fail because it will racebend like before—it's apparently not. They talk about how it will fail because Bryke aren't a part of a project despite the fact they're the reason why LoK, the sequel comics, even the live action movie ended up failing.

Yes.

Bryke, despite saying they had no say on the live action in fact did, but they've proven their writing skills leave a lot to be desired. They've a shipping bias which, given the recent MeToo movement, isn't a good one to be holding onto as there are major issues with said pairing that need to be addressed even though they don't want it – issues that would already change things up in some manner for the live action adaption despite the promises of keeping the original storyline.

I mean, these are the ones who nerfed Katara, yet this casting call—I guess that's another thing of note. Not only is she described as a strong character, she is described as placing her hope in her own powers rather than the powers of Aang which in turn makes her character shift away from Aang's character for the live action adaption.

Yes, I dread the thought it will be a modern AU.

I do, I do.

I find it cringe worthy.

Even though there is a small median of success among the high school AU stories in fanfic, I still find it cringe worthy.

Like—I've been one of the few people not cringing at a live action adaption up until now, but this—how is this not worse than the movie?

I'm hoping my theory is right, but if it's not...

If they are going for a modern AU, how about instead of petitioning the copyright holders to cancel the project before its even started because you've already decided it's a failure, petition them regarding this specific issue, yet also mention that you think the call for specific heritages is a step in the right direction. Because honestly, which petition do you think they're more likely to listen to, one that is butthurt fanboying or one that is raising an honest, specifically aimed criticism regarding something that's been leaked?

I mean, enough fans raised their voice when they saw what Sonic looked like for the live action Sonic movie which was already way under way, so don't underestimate the power you fans have. Of course, don't petition to get Bryke back. Because, I'm sad to say there's another unfortunate reason why they're going modern AU – the fact Bryke weren't on the ball in the first place and may have already wasted potential budget already. They're also the ones who nerfed Katara, among other things.

In other words, focus on the right things here rather than the wrong things.