Nickelodeon has begun to lay the groundwork for a “Avatar Airbender universe” which will feature multiple series and movies.
In an interview with Deadline, Nickelodeon President Brian Robbins revealed that this infrastructure is in the early stages of planning an expansion of Avatar: The Last Airbender It will consist of multiple projects in a variety of media. He has kept the rest of the details under wraps for now, though he said they could potentially be ready to reveal their plans “very soon.”
“We are in the early stages of development and exploration of what we call a complete Avatar Airbender universe.”Robbins said. “Mike [DiMartino] and Bryan [Konietzko] they’re working hard, and I think the universe will definitely encompass a theatrical movie, animation, certainly several TV series, and probably multiple movies. I think we will be ready very soon to tell the world what comes first, but we haven’t made it yet because we are in the early stages of creative development. “.
Last month, Nickelodeon announced the launch of an entirely new division dedicated to creating new series and movies based on the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. The creators and executive producers of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, were named leaders of the new division, which they officially called Avatar Studios.
Avatar Studios is expected to premiere on Paramount +, Nickelodeon platforms and unspecified third-party platforms, as well as in theaters. “We are excited to fill our own platforms today”Robbins explained in more detail. “We will strategically license context to other venues for different reasons, but primarily our focus is to fill our own platforms starting with Linear TV.”.
The studio’s first project will be an animated theatrical film that is scheduled to begin production later this year. No further details were given on the first project, although DiMartino and Konietzko commented on the expansion of the franchise, saying: “There are still many stories and time periods in Aang’s world that we are eager to bring to life.”.
The original animated adventure series concluded with a highly praised two-hour television movie in 2008, which we consider to be one of the best series endings of all time. Netflix added all three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender to its library in May of last year.
Netflix also has a live adaptation of ATLA in the works. However, original series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko left the project last June, citing creative differences as the reason for their departure. Executive producer Dan Lin and his production company Rideback remain linked to the series, along with Nickelodeon.
