''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' is an American

multimedia franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...

created by

Michael Dante DiMartino Michael Dante DiMartino (born July 18, 1974) is an American animator, producer, writer, and director. He is best known, together with Bryan Konietzko, as the co-creator of the animated TV series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend o ...

and

Bryan Konietzko Bryan Joseph Konietzko (born June 1, 1975) is an American animator, writer, producer and director. He is best known, together with Michael Dante DiMartino, as the co-creator and executive producer of the animated series '' Avatar: The Last Airben ...

. The franchise began with the animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', which aired on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

from 2005 to 2008. The franchise is set in an Asian-inspired

fantasy world A fantasy world or fictional world is a world created for fictional media, such as literature, film or games. Typical fantasy worlds feature magical abilities. Some worlds may be a parallel world connected to Earth via magical portals or items ...

in which some people can telekinetically manipulate (or "bend") one of the four

classical element The classical elements typically refer to Earth (classical element), earth, Water (classical element), water, Air (classical element), air, Fire (classical element), fire, and (later) Aether (classical element), aether which were proposed to ...

s: air, water, earth, or fire. Only the

titular Titular may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Title character in a narrative work, the character referred to in its title Religion * Titular (Catholicism), a cardinal who holds a titulus, one of the main churches of Rome ** Titular bisho ...

"Avatar" can bend all four elements and is responsible for maintaining balance in the world. ''Avatar'' is a franchise spanning works in various forms of

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

. A sequel animated series to ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as ''TLOK'' and also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or more rarely simply as ''Korra'') is an American animated Fantasy television, fantasy action drama television series created by Michael Dante ...

'', ran from 2012 to 2014. The storylines of both animated series have been continued in comic book form. Other franchise

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, website, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original proper ...

s include

novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent ...

art book Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that engage with and transform the form of a book. Some are mass-produced with multiple editions, some are published in small editions, while others are produced as one-of-a-kind ob ...

s, companion books, video games, and

home media Home media refers to media used for recording, copying, delivery, and playback of various types of entertainment and information in the home. Forms of home media include: * Home audio * Home video * Magnetic tape * Phonograph record * Home comput ...

releases. In 2010, the 1st season of the original animated series was adapted into a

live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...

film titled '' The Last Airbender''. A live-action TV series remake of the original series that's also named ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and is co-produced by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

began in 2024. In February 2021, Nickelodeon Productions announced the formation of

Avatar Studios Avatar Studios is an American production company and a division of Nickelodeon Animation Studio formed in February 2021 to oversee the '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' franchise. Franchise co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzk ...

, a division dedicated to the creation of ''Avatar'' projects. The first project, an animated theatrical film titled '' The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender'', is set to release in 2026.

Premise

The franchise is set in an Asian-inspired fantasy world that is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, the Fire Nation, the Air Nomads, and the Earth Kingdom. People of each nation are capable of telekinetically manipulating (referred to as "bending" in the franchise) one of the four elements: water, earth, fire, or air. The titular "Avatar" is the only person who can bend all four elements, and they are responsible for maintaining spiritual and physical balance in the world. After an Avatar's death, the Avatar Spirit, Raava, is reborn into a new person of a different nation, who is the new Avatar and who must master the bending arts of the four elements, and take on their Avatar responsibilities.

Television series

''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (2005–2008)

The first series in the franchise, ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' follows the young Avatar

Aang Avatar Aang ( zh, c=安昂, p=Ān Áng), or simply Aang, is the titular protagonist of Nickelodeon's animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko), voiced by Zach Tyler Ei ...

as he attempts to end the Fire Nation's war of conquest against the other three nations. Aang, who is the last surviving Air Nomad due to a

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

perpetrated by the Fire Nation, is joined by a teenage waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe, Katara, her non-bending brother

Sokka Sokka is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and its sequel series ''The Legend of Korra''. The character, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, is voiced by Jack ...

, and later the young blind earthbending prodigy

Toph Toph Beifong ( zh, c=北方拓芙, p=Běifāng Tuòfú) is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of Korra'', voiced by Michaela Jill Murphy in the original series an ...

, as he journeys to master bending the elements so that he can defeat the Fire Nation's leader,

Fire Lord Ozai This is a list of significant characters from the Nickelodeon animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and its sequel ''The Legend of Korra'', co-created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, as well the live-acti ...

, and restore peace throughout the four nations. The series also depicts the journey of Prince

Zuko Prince (later Fire Lord and Lord) Zuko (), also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dan ...

, Ozai's disgraced and exiled son, as he tries to restore his honor. When Ozai exiled him, he sent him on a quest to find the Avatar, a task thought impossible at the time. Zuko stays devoted to capturing Aang throughout the first season, but would go on to join Aang’s group later in the series.

''The Legend of Korra'' (2012–2014)

Set 70 years after the original series, ''The Legend of Korra'' follows Aang's successor as the Avatar, a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe named

Korra Avatar Korra, commonly known simply as Korra, is the title lead character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'' (a sequel to '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''), in which she is depicted as the current incarnation of ...

, who moves to the new, multi-ethnic Republic City to learn airbending from Aang's youngest son,

Tenzin Tenzin () is a Tibetan name, Tibetan given name, meaning "the holder of Buddha Dharma". Tenzin can alternatively be spelled as Tenzing and Stanzin as well. Stanzin is generally used by the Ladakh, Ladakhi people, since Ladakhi language retains man ...

. She befriends a firebending and earthbending pair of brothers,

Mako , better known by the mononym name Mako (sometimes stylised MAKO), is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actress, singing, singer and a member of the band Bon-Bon Blanco, in which her prominent role is as the maraca player. She has also perf ...

and Bolin, and the industrial heiress Asami Sato, and contends with a series of political upheavals, including a rising anti-bending movement, a civil war in the Water Tribes, an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

conspiracy, and the rise of an authoritarian government in the Earth Kingdom.

''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (2024–present)

Produced by

in partnership with

, ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' is a live-action adaptation of the first series by Albert Kim.

and

, originally set to be the showrunners, abandoned the project due to creative differences. The first season was released on February 22, 2024, on

, and consists of eight episodes.

''Avatar: Seven Havens'' (upcoming)

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'',

and

have announced ''Avatar: Seven Havens''. This upcoming 2D animated series will consist of 26 episodes, divided into two seasons, referred to as "Books." Set after the events of ''The Legend of Korra'', ''Avatar: Seven Havens'' will follow Korra's successor as the Avatar, an earthbender joined by her long-lost twin sibling. The series was created by

and

, and

Ethan Spaulding Ethan Spaulding is an American animation director, producer and storyboard artist, well known as a crew person on the animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''. He directed twelve episodes, and held various crew positions on seve ...

and Sehaj Sethi will serve as executive producers. No release windows was announced yet.

Films

''The Last Airbender'' (2010)

''The Last Airbender'' is a 2010 live-action adaptation of

the first season ''The First Season'' is a Canadian drama film, released in 1989. The film stars Kate Trotter as Alex Cauldwell, a woman in British Columbia who, following the death of her fisherman husband Frank (Dwight Koss), tries to support herself and her dau ...

of the animated series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' by

M. Night Shyamalan Manoj Nelliyattu M. Night Shyamalan ( ; born August 6, 1970) is an American filmmaker. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally. Shyamalan has received vario ...

. The film was widely panned by critics and fans of the animated series, and has since been considered one of the worst films ever made and took in $319 million at the worldwide

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...

''The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender'' (2026)

In February 2021, along with the announcement of the formation of

, it was reported that the studio's first project would be an animated theatrical film that would begin production later in 2021. In June 2022, it was announced that

Lauren Montgomery Lauren Eve Montgomery (born May 4, 1980) is an American storyboard artist, director, character designer, producer, and writer. She is known for storyboarding the DC Comics animated series and movies. Early life Lauren Montgomery became intereste ...

, a former storyboard artist on ''Avatar'' and a supervising producer for ''Korra'', would serve as director. In April 2024, Paramount revealed the film's tentative title, ''Aang: The Last Airbender'', along with the casting of

Eric Nam Eric Nam (; born November 17, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality based in South Korea. Since his debut in 2013, he was named ''GQ Koreas Man of the Year in 2016'','' included on ''Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia ...

as Aang,

Dionne Quan Dionne Quan (born October 20, 1978) is an American actress, known for her roles as Kimi Watanabe-Finster in '' Rugrats'' and Trixie Tang in '' The Fairly OddParents''. Early life Quan was born in Oakland, California to Lori and Daryl Quan, who ...

as Toph,

Jessica Matten Jessica Matten (born November 30, 1985) is a Canadian actress, fashion model, and film producer. Early life, family and education Matten was born in Edmonton, Alberta. She has British-Chinese ancestry through her father, as well as Red River ...

as Katara, Román Zaragoza as Sokka, and

Dave Bautista David Michael Bautista Jr. (born January 18, 1969) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the most prolific professional wrestlers of his generation, he rose to fame for his multiple stints in WWE betwee ...

as an antagonist. The film is set to be released theatrically on October 9, 2026 by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. In April 2025, the title of the film was announced as ''The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender''.

Comics

''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (2006–present)

''The Last Airbender'' (2010)

''The Legend of Korra'' (2016–present)

Books

Novels

Art books

Others

Video games

Soundtracks

Other media

Podcast

''Avatar: Braving the Elements'' is a podcast by Nickelodeon in which

Dante Basco Dante Roman Basco (born August 29, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Rufio, the leader of the Lost Boys, in Steven Spielberg's ''Hook'', Dolph in the cult film '' But I'm a Cheerleader'', the lead character Ben Mercado in th ...

, the voice actor for Prince Zuko, and

Janet Varney Janet Varney is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She is known for voicing the character of Korra in the Nickelodeon animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'', co-starring as Sheriff Evie Barret in the television ser ...

, who voiced

, revisit the animated television series. The podcast's main focus are deep dives into each TV episode in chronological order; other episodes explore individual characters, important themes in the ''Avatar'' universe or the craft and artistic work which went into creating it. Varney and Basco are often joined by other people who were involved in bringing the series to life, including fellow voice actors, writers, directors, producers and the show creators themselves. ''Avatar: Braving the Elements'' has also featured fans of the show as guests and been live-recorded by its hosts at conventions. Beginning with season 3, video recordings of the podcast were uploaded to Youtube.

Tabletop roleplaying game

On July 12, 2021, Magpie Games announced that on August 3 of the same year they'd be launching a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign for ''Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game'', an officially licensed tabletop roleplaying game set in the universe of ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of Korra''. The campaign raised

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

$9.53M, becoming the most successful campaign for a tabletop game in Kickstarter's history. Pre-orders for much of the game's content opened on October 12, 2022.

Concert

In October 2023, Nickelodeon and GEA Live announced ''Avatar: The Last Airbender in Concert'', an ongoing concert tour featuring Zuckerman's score for the series. The tour was initially announced for four dates and locations in the UK, US, and France, and premiered in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on January 21, 2024. The concert runs for over two hours and the music is performed by an orchestral ensemble, while several moments from the series are displayed on a large screen. Zuckerman, in assistance with DiMartino, Konietzko, and original editor Jeff Adams expanded the series' score and compositions for the concert. The concert is produced by Nickelodeon, GEA Live, and Senbla.

References

External links

* for Avatar Studios {{Paramount Franchises Franchise Franchise Avatar: The Last Airbender