Netflix took a big gamble in its quest to remake Avatar: The Last Airbender, Nickelodeon’s beloved animated series about a young boy destined to save the world. Its first season accomplished what most considered an impossible feat: it wasn’t a perfect adaptation, but it established a promising foundation for the story so many fans already knew and loved. We’ll see that story continue soon, as Netflix gave the Avatar team the green light for two additional seasons.
It’s been a year since that announcement, but Avatar’s cast and crew are wisely working to deliver Seasons 2 and 3 as soon as possible. This week, Netflix announced that Season 2 has officially wrapped production, and the series shows no signs of slowing down. The Avatar team is starting production on Season 3 right away, ideally keeping the gaps in Aang’s journey to a minimum.
That Avatar is already headed straight for its third (and likely final) season is a wise choice. The original Avatar takes place within a matter of months, but that hard-and-fast timeline is a luxury its live-action remake can’t afford. This cast is growing up fast: it’s only been a few years since we first met Gordon Cormier’s Aang, and he’s matured plenty in that time. The reboot has already taken some steps to ensure that Aang’s sudden growth spurts will make sense within the story — Season 2 will likely take place after a minor time jump — but it still makes sense to move quickly and film these seasons back to back.
Avatar Season 2 will follow Aang on his ongoing quest to master the four natural elements: air, water, earth, and fire. With the evil Fire Nation angling for world domination, and Sozin’s Comet — a once-in-a-century phenomenon that will make firebenders even stronger — fast approaching, he and his allies are racing against time in more ways than one. In Season 2, Aang will master water (curiously, he doesn’t waterbend much in Season 2) and struggle with the element of earth. He’ll also face new adversaries in Azula (Elizabeth Yu), the princess of the Fire Nation, who’ll stop at nothing to cut his progress short.
Alongside Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley), two siblings from the Southern Water Tribe, Aang will gain new allies in Season 2. Miya Cech has been cast as Toph Beifong, Aang’s future earthbending master. And as the series continues, we’ll also meet new mentors in the firebender Jeong Jeong (Terry Chen), the swordmaster Piandao (Jon Jon Briones), and the erstwhile Avatar Yangchen (Dichen Lachman). If nothing else, the casting for the series has always been on point, so it’ll be great to see these characters in action.
