As seemingly every major company in the television and film industry scrambles to replicate streaming service success, those who have sought to have exclusive, high-budget shows based on massively popular franchises have been the ones to rise to the top. Whether it's Netflix with its big license purchases and original content production or Disney+ with its procedural spinoffs of Marvel and Star Wars brands, everyone seems to be realizing that the ways of standard cable and satellite programming are dying out. Nickelodeon appears to have finally come to their senses in acknowledging what power the Avatar brand has as they've seen Netflix incite waves of resurging popularity in both Aang and Korra's animated stories.
The Avatar brand has seen a lot of cross-promotion going on recently, between the Netflix license bringing them back, appearances in MOBA game SMITE, and even a tabletop RPG in the works. The series' main creators Konietzko and DiMartino have seemingly fallen out with the impending live-action adaptation of The Last Airbender story being made by Netflix. It seems like no coincidence that shortly after news of their departure from the project, they're starting up a new 'Avatar Studio' under Nick, likely to produce original content for a streaming service. Reportedly, the first of these projects will be an animated film, presumably set in the Avatar universe. But what kind of movie would make sense for them to make? And what might be the long-term plan?
When compared to its original story, Legend of Korra had a bumpy production cycle for many reasons, including the way the creators didn't know whether or not they'd get to continue telling the story. It wasn't until Books 3 and 4 where they had security to write and produce the seasons in tandem and try to keep a through-line. And a huge strength of Aang's initial outing was that it was one long, continuous narrative where we got to see gradual, steady growth and development. A stand-alone film in the same world was kind of what Avatar Wan's story felt like, told over the course of a single episode as the 'origin story of the Avatar.' It could make a lot of sense to start Avatar Studio off by making a movie from this period of time for multiple reasons.
For starters, fans of the franchise already know of Wan, and learning more about his life might be enriching. But it would also be an opportunity for the Avatar series to present itself fresh to potential newcomers, as well as establish more 'origin story' elements of various aspects of its world. Even if not Wan's story, a tale about one of the earliest Avatars would make sense in a lot of ways, and be a fitting excuse to use a more dynamic, abstract art style (as Wan's story did), which is more feasible for a film rather than an entire show.
Another option could be to use a film to do a deeper dive into an Avatar fans already know of, but only know so much about. Roku saw some flashbacks, and it was during his lifetime that the Fire Nation rose to its prominent state of readying war against the world. Exploring this pivotal part of the world's history could be worthwhile. Meanwhile, Avatar Kyoshi is a fan favorite who even received a proper novel detailing some of her life - and she's an earthbender, to boot, a lesser represented origin of Avatars we've seen stories of. Perhaps fans could have a movie centered around the ominous face-stealing Koh as the antagonist, seeing how and why he stole the face of the woman Avatar Kuruk loved. Fans of the franchise have a lot of passion and dedication, so they could also go with someone entirely new, with a self-contained story, and it would find a following.
One approach which would perhaps serve a film format especially well would be a movie about the spirit world. Fans saw glimpses of it during Aang's narrative and got a deeper look into it during Korra's tale, as well as Wan's story showing when humans also lived among spirits. But the possibilities of a story about spirits themselves could be compelling, especially if careful and judicious weaving of established ones (such as Koh) were worked in. It would be something very fresh and new for the franchise, and the perfect excuse to go experimental and surreal. Fans of the series clearly would like to see the brand be taken in new directions, after all.
One more plausible outcome of a film would be to show the original cast we know and love during the period of time leading up to Korra's birth. There were flashbacks of the 'Gaang' as adults in Republic City, but there is easily more story that could be explored even in this setting. A movie about the original characters who built the series up in the first place could serve as a great celebration of the franchise, its history, serve as a bridge connecting both TV shows so far, and give everyone - creators and fans alike - one last 'hurrah' with the characters at the peak of their lives as well as their abilities, highlighting the struggles of adulthood they would have faced in a way that's relatable to those who grew up with the characters.
But what could fans be looking at beyond this film? The boring answer is that whatever this movie is about, it would get spun off into its own TV series. But it does seem inevitable that a studio created specifically to make new Avatar universe content will inevitably end up producing a new show about a new Avatar, most likely one we have not met yet. If this ends up being the case, would they dig into that uncertain history between the beginning and the end of the traditional Avatar cycle? Would they split into an alternate universe clearly connected to the Avatar world we know and love, but with different rules and history? Would they explore a future decades after Korra, with more modern technology?
There are many possibilities as to what direction the newly formed Avatar Studio could take, whether about brand new characters, beloved and established ones, or a combination of both. Regardless, there are also a lot of reasons to be both excited and concerned about what the formation of this new studio means for the future of the franchise, and it will likely be some time (and another live-action remake) before we have a clearer picture of where the brand is going.