The creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, have joined the ranks of the most highly regarded epic franchises alongside the Wizarding World’s Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. In fact, the co-creators were actually inspired by these massive ‘Legends and Lore’ properties and aimed to make one themselves. Those fantastical franchises mixed with their love and respect for anime and kung fu films birthed the beloved Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise.
But while The Lord of the Rings has seen success in the form of the Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor games and Harry Potter will finally get an open-world RPG called Hogwarts Legacy, due out next year, Avatar: The Last Airbender and its counterpart The Legend of Korra have yet to see any kind of video game adaptations. But Avatar Studios may change that.
The Foundation of Avatar Studios
All Avatar fans have likely heard of the terrible live-action movie adaptation made by M. Night Shyamalan. The movie was so bad that even the Wikipedia article says it’s largely considered to be “one of the worst films ever made” for a multitude of reasons, spreading from acting and writing to the whitewashing of the characters. The latter point is in direct contrast to Konietzko and DiMartino’s approach to the show. They tackled the subject material of eastern-inspired cultures and mythology delicately and accurately. For example, while the Fire Nation is well-known to be inspired by Japan and Ba Sing Se after China and the Forbidden City, the creators pulled back on some designs to avoid making unsavory statements about the histories of other countries.
But when it came to M. Night Shyamalan’s adaptation, the same care was not offered and instead was seen as a quick money grab. Konietzko and DiMartino would later go on to say that they didn’t want the film to be made at all. When this was brushed off by Paramount and Nickelodeon, the creators were only allowed to be involved a minimal amount, resulting in the film’s disastrous but earned reception. Many fans expect the same to happen with the upcoming live-action remake produced by Netflix now that DiMartino and Konietzko are no longer a part of it.
This led to the creation of Avatar Studios, helmed by the two original creators of The Last Airbender’s universe. Essentially, this means that DiMartino and Konietzko have full control over the artistic direction of any projects, arguably what should have been done in both live-action cases, but this could be the perfect start to a successful Avatar: The Last Airbender video game.
The Avatar Studio’s Projects
So far, Avatar Studios is currently working on an animated theatrical film that should begin production later this year, though there are few details on this movie otherwise. The creators have mentioned interest in a new series, short-form animations, spin-offs, and films as mentioned. But they’ve also stated that the franchise will now be able to develop in many exciting ways as they now have the support to create any medium of Avatar, which, of course, means video games.
While this doesn’t necessarily mean that Avatar Studios will make a video game set in the universe, it certainly leaves the possibility open. And if DiMartino and Konietzko truly wish to follow in the footsteps of great franchises like Middle-earth and the Wizarding World, video games are a perfect way to expand on lore.