Avatar: The Last Airbender | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Created by | |
Original work | Avatar: The Last Airbender |
Owner | Nickelodeon (Paramount Global) |
Years | 2005–present |
Print publications | |
Book(s) | List of art books |
Novel(s) | List of novels |
Comics | List of comics |
Films and television | |
Film(s) |
|
Television series | Avatar: The Last Airbender (upcoming) |
Animated series |
|
Television short(s) | Republic City Hustle (2013) |
Games | |
Video game(s) | List of games |
Avatar: The Last Airbender (abbreviated as ATLA), or simply Avatar, is an American multimedia franchise consisting of two animated television series, a live-action film, comics, books, video games, home media, and soundtracks. The franchise began with the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series is set in an Asian-inspired[1] fantasy world in which some people can telekinetically manipulate (or "bend") one of the four classical elements: air, water, earth, or fire. Only the titular "Avatar" can bend all four elements and is responsible for maintaining balance in the world.[2][3]
Since its original release, Avatar has developed into a franchise spanning works in various media. A sequel animated television series, The Legend of Korra, aired on Nickelodeon from 2012 to 2014 and has since expanded into its own sub-franchise. The storylines of both animated series have been continued in comic book form.[4][5] Other franchise tie-ins include novelizations, art books, companion books, video games, and home media releases. In 2010, the original animated series was adapted into a live-action film titled The Last Airbender. The film itself spawned a novelization series, two graphic novels, two video games, a soundtrack album, and DVD and Blu-ray releases.
In February 2021, Nickelodeon announced the creation of Avatar Studios, "a division designed to create original content spanning animated series and movies based on the franchise's world." The original creators and executive producers Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko will run the studio as co-chief creative officers, with an animated theatrical film set to start production in 2021 as its first release.
A live-action remake of the original series, developed by Netflix began development in 2019. Originally set to involve DiMartino's and Konietzko's for the project, they left during season one production due to creative differences. However their names will still be attached to several episodes in the first season.
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. Within each nation lives people capable of telekinetically manipulating (referred to as "bending" in the franchise) one of the first 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, he/she's vital essence, and that of the Avatar Spirit, Raava the Spirit of Light and Peace, reborn into a new person who takes on the mantle of the very first avatar, Avatar Wan.
Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | Network | ||||
Avatar: The Last Airbender | 1 | 20 | February 21, 2005 | December 2, 2005 | Nickelodeon | |
2 | 20 | March 17, 2006 | December 1, 2006 | |||
3 | 21 | September 21, 2007 | July 19, 2008 | |||
The Legend of Korra | 1 | 12 | April 14, 2012 | June 23, 2012 | Nickelodeon | |
2 | 14 | September 13, 2013 | November 22, 2013 | |||
3 | 13 | June 27, 2014 | August 22, 2014 | |||
4 | 13 | October 3, 2014 | December 19, 2014 | |||
Republic City Hustle | 1 | 3 | August 9, 2013 | August 23, 2013 | YouTube | |
Avatar: The Last Airbender | 1 | 8 | 2024 | TBA | Netflix |
Main article: Avatar: The Last Airbender |
The first series in the franchise, Avatar: The Last Airbender follows the young avatar Aang 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 perpetrated by the Fire Nation, is joined by the teenage waterbender Katara, her non-bending brother Sokka, and later the blind earthbending prodigy Toph as he journeys to master bending the elements so that he can defeat the Fire Nation's leader, Fire Lord Ozai, and restore peace once and for all. The series also depicts the journey of Prince Zuko, Ozai's disgraced and exiled son, as he tries to restore his honor and his claim to the throne.
Main article: The Legend of Korra |
Set 70 years after the original series, The Legend of Korra follows Aang's successor as Avatar, a waterbender named Korra, who moves to the new, multi-ethnic Republic City to learn airbending from Aang's son, Tenzin. She befriends a firebending and earthbending pair of brothers, Mako 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 conspiracy, and the rise of an authoritarian government in the Earth Kingdom.
Main article: Avatar: The Last Airbender (upcoming TV series) |
Produced by Netflix, Avatar: The Last Airbender is a live-action adaptation of the first series by Albert Kim.[6] Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, originally set to be the showrunners, abandoned the project due to creative differences.[7]
Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Last Airbender | June 30, 2010 | M. Night Shyamalan | M. Night Shyamalan, Sam Mercer & Frank Marshall | Released | |
Untitled animated Avatar Studios film | October 10, 2025 | Lauren Montgomery | TBA | Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino and Eric Coleman | In development |
Main article: The Last Airbender (2010 film) |
The Last Airbender is a 2010 live-action adaptation of the first season of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender by M. Night Shyamalan. 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.[8]
On February 24, 2021, ViacomCBS announced during its annual Investor Day the formation of Avatar Studios, a new division of Nickelodeon dedicated to the creation of projects based on animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–08) and The Legend of Korra (2012–14). The series creators and executive producers Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino would serve as co-chief creative officers. It was also announced that the studio's first project is an animated theatrical film that would begin production later in 2021.[9] In June 2022, it was announced that Lauren Montgomery, a former storyboard artist on Avatar and a supervising producer for Korra, would serve as director. Konietzko and DiMartino will serve as producers alongside Eric Coleman.[10] In July that same year, Janet Varney, the voice of Korra, revealed that the plot of the movie will revolve around Aang and his friends.[11] In October 2022, it was announced that Flying Bark Productions would provide animation for the first film.[12]
The film is set to be released theatrically on October 10, 2025, by Paramount Pictures.[13] Two additional theatrical animated films from Avatar Studios are in the works.[10]
On February 24, 2021, ViacomCBS announced Avatar Studios, a new division of Nickelodeon centered on developing animated series and films set in the Avatar universe, to be distributed via Nickelodeon's linear and digital services, Paramount+, theatres, and other third-party platforms. The division is helmed by original series creators DiMartino and Konietzko, who are its co-chief creative officers and report to Nickelodeon Animation Studio president Ramsey Ann Naito.[14] In addition to this announcement, the company also stated the studio would begin production of an animated film sometime in 2021. Konietzko and DiMartino remarked that "with this new Avatar Studios venture we have an unparalleled opportunity to develop our franchise and its storytelling on a vast scale, in myriad exciting ways and mediums",[15] while ViacomCBS Kids & Family president Brian Robbins declared "Avatar: The Last Airbender and Korra have grown at least ten-fold in popularity since their original hit runs on Nickelodeon, and Ramsey Naito and I are incredibly excited to have Mike and Bryan's genius talent on board to helm a studio devoted to expanding their characters and world into new content and formats for fans everywhere".[14]
Main article: Avatar: The Last Airbender (comics) |
Title | Release date(s) | Media type | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Avatar: The Last Airbender | January 25, 2006 – August 6, 2008 | Film comic series | [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] |
| |||
Free Comic Book Day issues | May 7, 2011 – May 2, 2015 | Mini-comic | [26][27][28][29] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Lost Adventures | June 15, 2011 | Anthology | [30] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise | January 25 – September 26, 2012 | Graphic novel trilogy | [31][32][33] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Search | March 20 – October 30, 2013 | Graphic novel trilogy | [36][37][38] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Rift | March 5 – November 18, 2014 | Graphic novel trilogy | [41][42][43] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Smoke and Shadow | October 6, 2015 – March 16, 2016 | Graphic novel trilogy | [46][47][48] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – North and South | September 14, 2016 – April 26, 2017 | Graphic novel trilogy | [51][52][53] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Imbalance | December 18, 2018 – October 1, 2019 | Graphic novel trilogy | [55][56] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Team Avatar Tales | October 15, 2019 | Anthology | [57] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Katara and the Pirate's Silver | October 14, 2020 | Graphic novel | [58] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy | February 17, 2021 | Graphic novel | [59] |
| |||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Suki, Alone | July 28, 2021 | Graphic novel | [60] |
|
Title | Release date(s) | Media type | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
The Last Airbender Prequel: Zuko's Story | May 18, 2010 | Graphic novel | [25][61] |
| |||
The Last Airbender | June 22, 2010 | Graphic novel | [24][25] |
|
Main article: The Legend of Korra (comics) |
Title | Release date(s) | Media type | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Free Comic Book Day issues | May 7, 2016 – May 7, 2022 | Mini-comic | [63][64] |
| |||
The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars | July 26, 2017 – August 22, 2018 | Graphic novel trilogy | [65][66][67] |
| |||
The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire | May 21, 2019 – February 26, 2020 | Graphic novel trilogy | [71] |
| |||
The Legend of Korra: Patterns in Time | November 30, 2022 | Anthology | [73] |
|
Title | Release date | Age category | Media type | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Earth Kingdom Chronicles | May 8, 2007 – April 8, 2008 | Children | Novelization series | [74][75][76][77][78][79] |
| ||||
Ready-to-Read | July 1 – December 16, 2008 | Children | Novelization series | [81][82][83] |
| ||||
Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle | May 20, 2008 | Children | Novelization | [84] |
| ||||
The Last Airbender Movie Novelization | May 25, 2010 | Children | Novelization | [85] |
| ||||
The Last Airbender Movie | May 25, 2010 | Children | Novelization series | [86][87][88][89] |
| ||||
Nickelodeon: Legend of Korra | January 8 – July 9, 2013 | Young adult | Novelization series | [90][91] |
| ||||
The Kyoshi Novels | July 16, 2019 – July 21, 2020 | Young adult | Novel series | [5][92] |
| ||||
The Yangchen Novels | July 19, 2022 – July 18, 2023 | Young adult | Novel series | |
|
Title | Release date | ISBN | Media type | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
How to Draw Avatar: The Last Airbender | March 28, 2007 | 978-1-56010-783-5 | Drawing book | [97] |
| ||||
Avatar: The Last Airbender Drawing Book and Kit | September 28, 2007 | 978-1-60058-060-4 | Drawing book | [98] |
| ||||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Art of the Animated Series | May 19, 2010 | 978-1-59582-504-9 | Concept art | [99] |
| ||||
The Legend of Korra Book One: Air – The Art of the Animated Series | July 17, 2013 | 978-1-61655-168-1 | Concept art | [100] |
| ||||
How to Draw The Legend of Korra | August 15, 2014 | 978-1-60058-379-7 | Drawing book | [101] |
| ||||
The Legend of Korra Book Two: Spirits – The Art of the Animated Series | September 3, 2014 | 978-1-61655-462-0 | Concept art | [102] |
| ||||
The Legend of Korra Book Three: Change – The Art of the Animated Series | January 21, 2015 | 978-1-61655-565-8 | Concept art | [103] |
| ||||
Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Poster Collection | August 12, 2015 | 978-1-61655-737-9 | Posters | [104] |
| ||||
The Legend of Korra Book Four: Balance – The Art of the Animated Series | September 2, 2015 | 978-1-61655-687-7 | Concept art | [105] |
| ||||
The Legend of Korra – The Poster Collection | September 28, 2016 | 978-1-50670-119-6 | Posters | [106] |
| ||||
Avatar: The Last Airbender Coloring Book | October 5, 2016 | 978-1-50670-236-0 | Adult coloring book | [107] |
| ||||
The Legend of Korra Coloring Book | July 12, 2017 | 978-1-50670-246-9 | Adult coloring book | [108] |
|
Title | Release date | ISBN | Media type | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Lost Scrolls | December 26, 2006 – January 23, 2007 | Various | Companion book series | [109][110][111][112] |
| ||||
The Ultimate Pocket Guide | July 24, 2007 | 978-1-41694-736-3 | Companion book | [114] |
| ||||
Battle of the Benders | January 8, 2008 | 978-0-37584-331-0 | 3D book | [115] |
| ||||
Brainbenders from the Four Nations | January 8, 2008 | 978-1-41695-350-0 | Quiz book | [116] |
Mindbenders and Brainbusters: The Ultimate Avatar Challenge | September 9, 2008 | 978-1-41696-057-7 | Quiz book | [117] |
| ||||
The Legend of Korra: Enhanced Experience | July 2, 2013 | 978-1-61263-394-7 | E-book | [118][119] |
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Legacy | October 13, 2015 | 978-1-60887-447-7 | Illustrated fiction | [120] |
The Legend of Korra: An Avatar's Chronicle | August 6, 2019 | 978-1-68383-393-2 | Illustrated fiction | [121][122] |
| ||||
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Legacy of The Fire Nation | February 4, 2020 | 978-1-68383-392-5 | Illustrated fiction | [123] |
Title | Details |
---|---|
Original release date(s):[124][125] |
Release years by system: 2006 – Game Boy Advance, Windows, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[127] |
Release years by system: 2007 – Wii, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[128][129][130] |
Release years by system: 2008 – Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2[131] |
Notes: | |
Avatar: Legends of the Arena Original release date:[133][134]
|
Release years by system: 2008 – Windows, Mac OS X |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[135][136][137] |
Release years by system: 2010 – Wii, Nintendo DS |
Notes: | |
Original release date(s):[140][141]
|
Release years by system: 2014 – Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[142]
|
Release years by system: 2014 – Nintendo 3DS |
Notes:
| |
Avatar Generations Original release date:[144]
|
Release years by system: 2023 – iOS, Android |
Notes:
| |
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Quest for Balance Original release date:[145][146][147][148]
|
Release years by system: 2023 – Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S |
Notes:
|
Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | Network | ||||
Avatar: Braving the Elements | 1 | 46 | June 22, 2021 | April 19, 2022 | Nickelodeon, IHeartRadio | |
2 | 54 | May 3, 2022 | May 9, 2023 |
Avatar: Braving the Elements is a podcast where the voice of Zuko, Dante Basco, and the voice of Korra, Janet Varney, goes through the shows episode by episode. They often get co-cast as guests, and sometimes get visited by the creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.
Main article: List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters |
This section includes characters who have appeared in in the franchise.
Main article: List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes § Video releases |
Season | Volume | DVD release dates | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Region 1[149] | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
1 | 1 | January 24, 2006 | February 19, 2007[150] | March 15, 2007[151] | |
2 | March 28, 2006 | June 4, 2007[152] | July 5, 2007[153] | ||
3 | May 30, 2006 | September 3, 2007[154] | March 13, 2008[155] | ||
4 | July 18, 2006 | February 18, 2008[156] | June 19, 2008[157] | ||
5 | September 19, 2006 | May 26, 2008[158] | March 5, 2009[159] | ||
2 | 1 | January 23, 2007 | Not released | June 4, 2009[160] | |
2 | April 10, 2007 | August 4, 2009[161] | |||
3 | May 22, 2007 | October 29, 2009[162] | |||
4 | August 14, 2007 | March 31, 2010[163] | |||
3 | 1 | October 30, 2007 | June 1, 2010[164] | ||
2 | January 22, 2008 | September 21, 2010[165] | |||
3 | May 6, 2008 | October 7, 2010[166] | |||
4 | July 29, 2008 | November 4, 2010[167] |
Season | DVD release dates | Blu-ray release dates | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Region 1[149] | Region 2 | Region 4 | Region free | |||
1 | September 12, 2006 | January 26, 2009[168] | June 4, 2009[169] | Not released | ||
2 | September 11, 2007 | July 20, 2009[170] | September 9, 2010[171] | |||
3 | September 16, 2008 | February 1, 2010[172] | December 2, 2010[173] | |||
Complete series | October 6, 2015[174] | August 6, 2012[175] | Not released | May 1, 2018[176] |
Main article: The Last Airbender (2010 film) § Home media |
Film | DVD release dates | Blu-ray release dates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Region free | |
The Last Airbender | November 16, 2010[177] | December 13, 2010[178] | January 13, 2011[179] | November 16, 2010[180] |
Main article: List of The Legend of Korra episodes § DVD and Blu-ray releases |
Title | Details |
---|---|
June 29, 2010 – Compact disc, digital[181][182] |
Notes:
|
The Legend of Korra: Original Music from Book One July 16, 2013 – Compact disc, digital[183][184][185] |
Notes:
|