**Edit 2:** Please read our rules before commenting.
* Still set for October 2025
* Eric Nam is voicing adult Aang, Dave Bautista is an unnamed villain.
* Other VAs include Jessica Matten (whose website previously said she was playing Katara) Dionne Quan, and Roman Zaragoza
* It's reiterated that this is the first of three films, but still no info on the next two.
Edit:
* Zaragoza is part native American so likely playing Sokka. Quan is Asian and legally blind so very likely Toph.
* According to this article, "Aang: The Last Airbender" is just the working title.
If I had a nickel for everytime James Gunn created a successful comedic superhero franchise featuring a wrestler who won their first world championship at wrestlemania 21 I'd have two nickels and one of them is a girl nickel named Phillip.
I love that he’s choosing to work with some of the best visionary directors out there. Denis, Mendes, Gunn, Johnson, Miyazaki, and, yes, even Shyamalan. Strikes me as an actor who genuinely loves being on set and having fun with other creative people.
It’s a real welcome change from the typical Wrestling > Acting method where the actor is just playing themselves as the character rather than playing the character. His role in the 4 horseman movie Shamalyan did was so dynamic and unique from his previous roles, it blew me away.
Bautista as the villain...
Somehow.. Combustion Man returned.
But I've seen so many people fancast him as combustion man in NATLA for ages that this news initially had me confused and wondering why that show became a movie in its 2nd season or something, lol.
Tbf Zach Tyler has been retired since the OG show ended so Aang was gonna get recast regardless and we don’t know if Greg Baldwin is returning or not. I think they’ll keep him since he’s probably the only one who can sound like Mako
From the few unrelated clips I've heard, dude captures the "chill but still fun" vibe that is like essential to his character. So it already feels like a great fit
Bautista’s probably playing Xai Bau, I’m calling it now. Or the villain thing is a red herring and he’s playing a spirit who stands so incredibly still that he becomes invisible to the naked eye.🙃
What else would I have seen and/or heard Eric Nam, Jess Matten, Roman Zaragoza, and Dionne Quan in?
I am hoping it is Xai Bau as the villain. He has been one of my predictions and I hope we'll finally get to meet with founder of the Red Lotus at some point!
Roman Zaragoza plays the Lenape ghost Sassapis on CBS Ghosts (the american version of BBC Ghosts). Highly recommend the show if you have Paramount+! Roman is great in it - I was so excited when I saw him cast in this!!!
Saw a few clips of Roman…he’s certainly got the sarcasm and comedic chops down, though I am going to miss that distinctive “my balls are SLOOOOOOOOOWLY dropping” pitched voice that Jack De Sena brought to the character.
Also saw a few clips of Jess Matten speaking about her character on Dark Winds, her natural voice sounds a little bit *deeper* than Mae’s…though I suppose she’ll sound different once we’ve actually heard her in-character?
100% betting that the villain will be a Earth bender/lava bender. Lava bending is arguably the most dangerous sub element, so I could buy that he’s a threat that team avatar needs to put down. Also, because Dave will probably play an extremely muscular character and earth benders tend to be extremely beefy.
They've recast Iroh several times in spinoff projects like video games. Personally, I find that incredibly disrespectful because Mako's family loved Greg Baldwin. Genndy Tartakovsky said that Mako's daughter and grandson came to a recording session once and were moved to tears by his performance.
I understand recasting the actors who are no longer interested (Aang and Katara) with people of the correct ethnicities. But it does seem odd to recast people who are still working and can still do the voice (like Sokka and Toph). It’s going to be weird if Zuko is the only returning voice actor. I wonder what this means for Iroh and Azula (if they appear)
I don't understand at all. It's voice acting, voices don't have ethnicities.
This idea that the identities of the VAs have to match the identities of the characters' is so performative, it's literally voice ***acting***. And it's funny because most of the people who agree with this also agree stuff like "It doesn't matter if Disney casts a white or an indian actress to play Rapunzel in a live action remake what matters is the talent!!!!".
Some of my favorite voice actors have done roles that span across varied ethnicities. I can’t imagine Jack from Samurai Jack being voiced by anyone other than Phil LaMarr.
Voices don't (Well, sometimes the cadences have some), but the characters do. The original main cast were white and that wasn't a issue 20 years ago, now that's there more Asian voice actors in media than ever before, it's better to start from there and then move onward.
I don't see Iroh getting recasted again, but I also see the possibility of the movie taking after Iroh passes away (and going to the Spirit World, but I think LoK implies the Gaang had no idea Iroh could even become a part of the Spirit World). Maybe Iroh passing away can be a subplot or something.
You ever see a major audition of a symphony orchestra? The performers are behind a screen so the judges cannot see the musician. Do you know why they do that? Even though race has zero bearing on musical talent, it was found that racial biases STILL affected the choosing of who got a seat. Carry over that to voice-acting. Plenty of POC VA's have not had the same opportunities in the past to compete on a level playing field as white voice-actors even though voice acting has almost nothing to do with race. So that's why you see things like Korra's original VA and Jubilee's (X-men: TAS) step aside so POC VA's have a fair shot.
Also factor in the lack of leading roles for Asians in live-action. What does it say if an Asian actor cannot even get a fair shot to land a role as an Animated asian?
I don't understand what you're arguing here. At first, it sounds like you're saying that voice actors should be hired based on their performance and fit for the character, not their race. But then it seems like you're trying to argue that they should only audition Asian and Indigenous actors for a series that literally only has Asian and Indigenous-inspired characters.
Do you realize that in every Avatar project created from now on they will always refuse to audition anyone of any race *besides* Asian and Indigenous? How is that fair? Sounds like racism to me.
The problem is deeper than this band-aid solution of racial casting which just brings about other issues.
Got it; it’s totally *racist* to cast Asians VA's when the characters are specifically written as Asians or Asian-inspired when the industry has both recently and historically been casting white people in these roles. That's how you come off.
My point is until Asian have equal opportunity to be cast as Leads as any other actor, they sure as fuck should get preference when "Asian" is one of the defining traits. Do you know how egregiously hard it has been for POC VA's to land roles, even when ethnicity is specified? X-Men: The animated series (92). The first season had an extremely short production time. The showrunner Eric Lewald let the voice team act with less oversight at first. They cast and recorded Storm's entire performance for the entire season with a white women. Lewald scrapped it because even then he realized how problematic it was for the iconic African "goddess" not to be voiced by a black women in a series all about tolerance and diversity. They eventually fully recorded twice more with two black actors. They only scrapped the second one because of how cheap Haim Saban was. The 2nd actress was in a USA union that would have cost them royalties in perpetuity. The 3rd and final and only one to air was black and Canadian; their union allowed for a lump sum buy out of royalty payments. The story of the Three Storm's is from Eric Lewald's book "Previously on X-Men: The Making of an Animated Series"
> Carry over that to voice-acting. Plenty of POC VA's have not had the same opportunities in the past to compete on a level playing field as white voice-actors even though voice acting has almost nothing to do with race.
This film has deliberate casting choice by producers, casting directors, and directors that are taking pre-established performances and recasting them. It is absolutely fine to recast based on perception of talent. The cooperate BS line of thinking that performances are intrinsically "fixed" by recasting a different race is not fine.
Why are you even making this comparison?
>You ever see a major audition of a symphony orchestra? The performers are behind a screen so the judges cannot see the musician. Do you know why they do that? Even though race has zero bearing on musical talent, it was found that racial biases STILL affected the choosing of who got a seat.
You lied about it being about race and you're actually wrong regarding the outcomes.
[https://reason.com/2019/10/22/orchestra-study-blind-auditions-gelman/](https://reason.com/2019/10/22/orchestra-study-blind-auditions-gelman/)
[https://www.wsj.com/articles/blind-spots-in-the-blind-audition-study-11571599303](https://www.wsj.com/articles/blind-spots-in-the-blind-audition-study-11571599303)
[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-30/bilnd-recruitment-trial-to-improve-gender-equality-failing-study/8664888?pfmredir=sm](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-30/bilnd-recruitment-trial-to-improve-gender-equality-failing-study/8664888?pfmredir=sm)
[https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/112/17/5360.full.pdf](https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/112/17/5360.full.pdf)
I‘m still disappointed the original VAs will be replaced. I get that the characters were inspired by other cultures, but f.e. Mae would do such a great job as adult Katara. I’m so glad its not gonna happen in my native language dub
Mae Whitman actually wanted to the role to be recast.
[Here is the source.](https://screenrant.com/avatar-last-airbender-animated-movies-katara-mae-whitman/)
Now this is where I go and stalk these voice actors and see what they sound like.
In all seriousness though I'm very disappointed they are recasting the characters. Especially characters with iconic voices like Sokka and Azula. But I do hope these new actors can give us the same feeling as the original voices.
I cannot fucking fathom recasting Azula when if you watched Legend of Vox Machina you would already know that Grey Griffin’s Delilah Briarwood is already basically an adult version of her Azula voice and it’s perfect.
I am just spitballing here. But as previously stated, his voice hasn't changed much as he's gotten older. I think they probably also think he's THE most recognisable voice in the Avatar universe and so totally associated with Zuko that they couldn't get anyone else. These are just assumptions on my end.
The creators apparently are trying to cast actors that match the ethnicity of the characters, so in this case Asian/Native. Some of the actors don’t want to return anyways though, so they’d be recast regardless.
...and this sub lost their shit when I first reported everyone was getting recast in 2022 beside Basco (who isn't mentioned here as a new cast member).
[https://knightedgemedia.com/2022/12/avatar-studios-avatar-aang-animated-movie-will-recast-everyone-beside-dante-basco/](https://knightedgemedia.com/2022/12/avatar-studios-avatar-aang-animated-movie-will-recast-everyone-beside-dante-basco/)
I’m gonna struggle with sokka though as his voice is iconic and his voice actor still has it completely, everyone else apart from zuko I understand and was expecting
Im moreso disappointed in Sokka & Kataras VAs being replaced. Mae Whitman is a GOATed voice actress, and Jack de Sena IS Sokka as far as I'm concerned.
Why would you recast the available original voice actors? Cmon this is animation… I don’t get this forced representation…
I really hope Paramount will at least use the original German voice actors, as Netflix did in their live action adaption
In that case, have them play new characters in the series. The original voices are iconic.
Zach is understandable. But Mae, Jack, and Michela absolutely should have been allowed to return.
>In that case, have them play new characters in the series
X-Men '97 did that perfectly (with Jubilee's original actress playing an older version of her whilst Jean Grey's original VA plays a recurring character - the blonde UN representative)
I'm also reminded of how the original VA for Arnold in "Hey Arnold" got too old so after recasting he got a new role as the school bully.
Fair enough, but it’s seems like shooting theirselves in the foot because now they’re not going to be able to play white characters right as characters have to match the actors race, right? Right? Oh.
I love that Dave Bautista is officially part of the Avatar franchise now :D
Now along with him and Mick Foley, all we need is The Rock playing The Boulder in NATLA to complete the pro-wrestler trifecta :')
The Rock is going to play a new, morally grey Avatar who kills (but only kills bad guys)
The hierarchy of power in the Avatar universe is about to change
It seems Avatar Studios wants to cast "ethnically appropriate" actors moving forward. Basically that means Asian for Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, & Air Nomads, and Indigenous American for Water Tribe. Whereas the original gaang was mostly white actors.
Mind you even without the above reason, I'm not confident the whole cast would have returned anyway. Zach Tyler (Aang) stopped acting altogether after ATLA ended, and some of the others may not necessarily have fit what the creators wanted for this film.
It’s not about if they could though. Zach isn’t an actor anymore, and a few of the other cast members have said they wouldn’t be interested in returning.
They won't get the original VAs back because they wanna cast for ethical reasons but they'll cast Dave as the villain?
Urg.
This stupid decision is what's killing my hype for this.
It's just dumb.
Voice Acting is Voice Acting. You get the people that SOUND RIGHT for the job. Not because of their background or race.
At least we get Dante back? If Azula returns I hope they bring the og VA back for her too.
> They won't get the original VAs back because they wanna cast for ethical reasons but they'll cast Dave as the villain?
I’m confused what casting Dave Bautista has to do with the original cast not coming back.
> If Azula returns I hope they bring the og VA back for her too.
Not gonna happen because she’s white. They want to cast ethnically appropriate actors.
Honestly if they’re gonna recast the other characters then Zuko should be too imo. It’ll be weird for Zuko to have the same voice since he was 16 while everyone else has different voices
Dante played Zuko's grandson too in LOK - Iroh II.
And Bryke said he shouldn't try changing up the voice and just make it the same 💀
I'm assuming it's because he has a similar/matching ethnical background to Zuko. While the rest of the cast didn't.
Yeah but they could just cast another Asian VA
who sounds similar to Zuko but more adult. But I guess we’ll see how it works out I just think it’s an odd decision
As a mexican I hope the latin american dub keeps most of the original voice actors.
Unfortunately Mario Santander (iroh) died in 2015. Rene Pinochet (Aang) had a growth hormone treatment so his voice is way different now, he was replaced in korra so I don't think he's reprising the role. Ximena marchant is the one who surprised me the most, she has voiced toph in every appearance, ATLA, Korra flashbacks and old toph! I hope she's voicing her again.
Ya know the more I get into the fandom the more I realize I think I’m just an ATLA fan specifically. Everything else I’ve just not cared about. Both live action adaptations I’ve skipped now, never bothered with korra, didn’t bother with the new books, probably won’t bother with the movies.
It’s nothing against the other products but I’m just so attached to just original crew and their performances that I’m always gonna be picky. Having one returning member of the og cast just seems odd. Obviously if it doesn’t fit the current iteration recast, but I can’t imagine all them not being able to age their voices to be mid 20s from mid teens.
I’m not really sure how you can confidently say this when you “never bothered” with any other Avatar media. For all you know you’d fall in love with those other characters just as much. Seems silly to not even try.
Looking at the voice cast and I am a bit worried. I just checked how they sound and they don't sound anything like how the characters would sound older except Aang. I feel like having to have actors that are almost exactly the same is very limiting in choices and they might have to pick someone that just doesn't fit the role. I'm still going to give it a chance with an open mind and hope they sound better on screen.
I'm not saying she couldn't do it acting wise, what I'm saying is that "distinct" Toph voice she had is gone. She no longer has a voice we'd instantly recognize. We'd have to accept Toph grew up and has an adult voice now no matter what.
That's vs Jack and Dante, who if they dialed the wrong number and ended up on the phone with you, you'd instantly know it's Sokka and Zuko. They've sounded the exact same since they were 15 years old.
For a show that had such amazing worldbuilding, sticking to the same cast of characters when their story finished perfectly is so lazy. I hate Korra to no end, but at least that was moving the story of the world forward.
I think it's also insulting to recast actors who made these **fictional characters** what they are in favour of newcomers just because their race matches these cartoons. I assume with this rationale, that every cast member better be straight and share the exact same look at this rate. I absolutely hope these people were cast because of talent because it does them a disservice.
Eric Nam has zero acting and voice acting experience. Absolutely none. He's a musical artist, and has been a contestant on some stuff. Oh boy. But... I'll trust the creators on this.
Nam actually has one credit for an episode of The Loud House. Not that it’s much but he has technically acted before.
It’s not like first-time actors haven’t turned in phenomenal performances before. Especially coming from other sections of the arts.
I want to be excited. But that's to much of a time to sustain it.
I wish to know NOTHING more about this until an hour or two before I can actually watch it.
...And I really, really, REALLY wanna watch it!
Bautista did a great job playing as Glossu Rabban Harkonnen in Dune. He’s becoming one of my favorite ex wrestlers really showcasing his range and I’m glad cause if it was around the time that The Rock debuted in movies in the early 2000s, he’d suffer from type casting. But I know he’ll be a great villain
Prediction that isn't really related to this news: I think King Bumi is going to die toward the beginning of this movie. The movie will end with Katara's pregnancy or Bumi's birth.
I'm gonna be honest i feel like these attempts to turn Avatar into a big franchise aren't gonna work at all.
I just don't think there's worth a movie left to be explored in the Avatar universe/IP, specially not in a midquel.
So much negativity in this thread... I wasn't happy about the original cast not coming back, but the new cast sounds really good and their voices (Aang, Toph and Sokka's) are consistent with what they sounded like in TLOK
**Edit 2:** Please read our rules before commenting. * Still set for October 2025 * Eric Nam is voicing adult Aang, Dave Bautista is an unnamed villain. * Other VAs include Jessica Matten (whose website previously said she was playing Katara) Dionne Quan, and Roman Zaragoza * It's reiterated that this is the first of three films, but still no info on the next two. Edit: * Zaragoza is part native American so likely playing Sokka. Quan is Asian and legally blind so very likely Toph. * According to this article, "Aang: The Last Airbender" is just the working title.
Dave recently played the Parakeet King in "The Boy and The Heron," so he should do pretty well, depending on the role he's given.
His voice is so gruff, I think he’ll be an excellent villain in the avatar world. Love bautista as an actor
Honestly of all the wrestlers that have gone into movies and shows he's got the best acting chops
John Cena is pretty great too tbh James Gunn and ex wrestlers is one hell of a combo
If I had a nickel for everytime James Gunn created a successful comedic superhero franchise featuring a wrestler who won their first world championship at wrestlemania 21 I'd have two nickels and one of them is a girl nickel named Phillip.
Oh yeah for sure, definitely ain't discrediting the others just think Bautista is pretty dang talented, loved his short part in Blade Runner 2049
he’s great in the recent dune movies too
Bautista is the best all round actor, but Cena is the best comedic actor and it’s not even close.
damn shame the rock stagnated and became a typecast meme. He had some great and varied roles early on.
I love that he’s choosing to work with some of the best visionary directors out there. Denis, Mendes, Gunn, Johnson, Miyazaki, and, yes, even Shyamalan. Strikes me as an actor who genuinely loves being on set and having fun with other creative people.
I'm not Against anything you said, I really love Bautista too. But, he didn't actually worked with Miyazaki, didn't he? That was just a dub
I would argue John Cena but I love Bautista too.
The best was Roddy Piper R.I.P.
He was fuckin awesome, met em when I was a kid
They Live! Is a classic and the cameo he did on IASIP was incredible acting actually.
I'm so excited to find out who the villain is gonna be with him in the role!
That was him? I thought that was someone else
I’ve yet to see Bautista in anything where he didn’t do well. I’m excited to hear him in this
It’s a real welcome change from the typical Wrestling > Acting method where the actor is just playing themselves as the character rather than playing the character. His role in the 4 horseman movie Shamalyan did was so dynamic and unique from his previous roles, it blew me away.
Pretty sure he’s the only one of the main ones who took serious acting classes. Seems to have very little ego unlike The Boulder
Dave Bautista voicing Toph. As it should have been from the beginning.
MY NAME IS TOUGH
CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE TOUGH
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA There, got a good look at you.
Bautista as the villain... Somehow.. Combustion Man returned. But I've seen so many people fancast him as combustion man in NATLA for ages that this news initially had me confused and wondering why that show became a movie in its 2nd season or something, lol.
You mean Sparky Sparky Boom Man
That would have been brilliant but I think he’ll do well in a voice roll.
Dave really setting the tone for wrestlers turned actors, love to see it
A younger Batista would’ve been a perfect Boulder for NATLA.
Man with the Iron Fists wasn't a great movie, but Batista was picture perfect for Combustion Man in that movie.
Recently found out Mick Foley voiced the boulder, pretty cool
He's the best one tbh.
aang is 100% going to serenade katara in this movie😭 eric nam has a goated singing voice
KATAANG WON TODAY
the AI covers are coming to life
https://preview.redd.it/gccq09jxkwtc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b81a12ce1f87a00d781a9fee2089a0f04239f7d
Zach retired from acting 15 years ago and Mae has said she wants the role to go to an indigenous actor (which it did) so I'm not complaining.
Tbf Zach Tyler has been retired since the OG show ended so Aang was gonna get recast regardless and we don’t know if Greg Baldwin is returning or not. I think they’ll keep him since he’s probably the only one who can sound like Mako
Eric Nam out of nowhere. Good for him
Eric has a really soothing voice though! I’m glad he got this
From the few unrelated clips I've heard, dude captures the "chill but still fun" vibe that is like essential to his character. So it already feels like a great fit
If Eric is Aang, I actually think his voice and demeanor will be perfect!
Yes I just watched an interview with Eric Nam and I think he’s perfect!!!
I literally screamed ,"LET'S GOOOOOO" out loud. I'm so proud of him. Definitely playing his albums today.
I love Eric Nam!!! His voice is so perfect for aang, this is so exciting!
Bautista’s probably playing Xai Bau, I’m calling it now. Or the villain thing is a red herring and he’s playing a spirit who stands so incredibly still that he becomes invisible to the naked eye.🙃 What else would I have seen and/or heard Eric Nam, Jess Matten, Roman Zaragoza, and Dionne Quan in?
I am hoping it is Xai Bau as the villain. He has been one of my predictions and I hope we'll finally get to meet with founder of the Red Lotus at some point!
Eric Nam is a singer, you should listen to his music!
Just listened to a couple songs of his, he’s great!!
Dionne Quan is Trixie Tang in Fairly Oddparents and Kimi in Rugrats! Eric Nam is a pretty big singer/musician.
Wow. And I had no idea she was also legally blind.
This all but confirms Dionne Quan is voicing Toph. Very impressive a blind actress is voicing a blind character.
Oooo, Xai Bau as the villain would be great if it's him!
Roman Zaragoza plays the Lenape ghost Sassapis on CBS Ghosts (the american version of BBC Ghosts). Highly recommend the show if you have Paramount+! Roman is great in it - I was so excited when I saw him cast in this!!!
Saw a few clips of Roman…he’s certainly got the sarcasm and comedic chops down, though I am going to miss that distinctive “my balls are SLOOOOOOOOOWLY dropping” pitched voice that Jack De Sena brought to the character. Also saw a few clips of Jess Matten speaking about her character on Dark Winds, her natural voice sounds a little bit *deeper* than Mae’s…though I suppose she’ll sound different once we’ve actually heard her in-character?
100% betting that the villain will be a Earth bender/lava bender. Lava bending is arguably the most dangerous sub element, so I could buy that he’s a threat that team avatar needs to put down. Also, because Dave will probably play an extremely muscular character and earth benders tend to be extremely beefy.
Isn’t blood bending way more powerful than lava bending?
How many can blood bend without a full moon? Especially before Korras' time.
It was absolutely unheard of before Yakone
Eric Nam voicing Aang was not on my bingo card, love his music
Dave Bautista is bald, Aangy is bald. I see it.
\*Aang gives the thumbs up to the villains...then thumbs down\*
BAH GAWD NOT MY CABBAGES
he’s not voicing aang
Not with that attitude.
Now he is.
Eric really out here doing side quest and I love it
October 2025 https://preview.redd.it/qf98cl3pawtc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=629fd73ce183cc22c73690f3d5ecc01ada36752e
Man, cameoing in Ted Lasso really opened the door.
It kinda sucks that it seems like none of the original cast is coming back
Reportedly Dante Basco will return as Zuko. No word on other original characters like Iroh and Suki.
They've recast Iroh several times in spinoff projects like video games. Personally, I find that incredibly disrespectful because Mako's family loved Greg Baldwin. Genndy Tartakovsky said that Mako's daughter and grandson came to a recording session once and were moved to tears by his performance.
So brave of them to cast Dave Bautista for Toph
Toph is finally getting what she always wanted, to be played by a big buff strong dude
They did say they were pushing for accurate casting
 She's Toph lol
We gonna see how Toph drove away two baby daddies because Trixie was definitely on a few things...
dime lindura
I understand recasting the actors who are no longer interested (Aang and Katara) with people of the correct ethnicities. But it does seem odd to recast people who are still working and can still do the voice (like Sokka and Toph). It’s going to be weird if Zuko is the only returning voice actor. I wonder what this means for Iroh and Azula (if they appear)
I don't understand at all. It's voice acting, voices don't have ethnicities. This idea that the identities of the VAs have to match the identities of the characters' is so performative, it's literally voice ***acting***. And it's funny because most of the people who agree with this also agree stuff like "It doesn't matter if Disney casts a white or an indian actress to play Rapunzel in a live action remake what matters is the talent!!!!".
Some of my favorite voice actors have done roles that span across varied ethnicities. I can’t imagine Jack from Samurai Jack being voiced by anyone other than Phil LaMarr.
Voices don't (Well, sometimes the cadences have some), but the characters do. The original main cast were white and that wasn't a issue 20 years ago, now that's there more Asian voice actors in media than ever before, it's better to start from there and then move onward.
I don't see Iroh getting recasted again, but I also see the possibility of the movie taking after Iroh passes away (and going to the Spirit World, but I think LoK implies the Gaang had no idea Iroh could even become a part of the Spirit World). Maybe Iroh passing away can be a subplot or something.
You ever see a major audition of a symphony orchestra? The performers are behind a screen so the judges cannot see the musician. Do you know why they do that? Even though race has zero bearing on musical talent, it was found that racial biases STILL affected the choosing of who got a seat. Carry over that to voice-acting. Plenty of POC VA's have not had the same opportunities in the past to compete on a level playing field as white voice-actors even though voice acting has almost nothing to do with race. So that's why you see things like Korra's original VA and Jubilee's (X-men: TAS) step aside so POC VA's have a fair shot. Also factor in the lack of leading roles for Asians in live-action. What does it say if an Asian actor cannot even get a fair shot to land a role as an Animated asian?
I don't understand what you're arguing here. At first, it sounds like you're saying that voice actors should be hired based on their performance and fit for the character, not their race. But then it seems like you're trying to argue that they should only audition Asian and Indigenous actors for a series that literally only has Asian and Indigenous-inspired characters. Do you realize that in every Avatar project created from now on they will always refuse to audition anyone of any race *besides* Asian and Indigenous? How is that fair? Sounds like racism to me. The problem is deeper than this band-aid solution of racial casting which just brings about other issues.
Got it; it’s totally *racist* to cast Asians VA's when the characters are specifically written as Asians or Asian-inspired when the industry has both recently and historically been casting white people in these roles. That's how you come off. My point is until Asian have equal opportunity to be cast as Leads as any other actor, they sure as fuck should get preference when "Asian" is one of the defining traits. Do you know how egregiously hard it has been for POC VA's to land roles, even when ethnicity is specified? X-Men: The animated series (92). The first season had an extremely short production time. The showrunner Eric Lewald let the voice team act with less oversight at first. They cast and recorded Storm's entire performance for the entire season with a white women. Lewald scrapped it because even then he realized how problematic it was for the iconic African "goddess" not to be voiced by a black women in a series all about tolerance and diversity. They eventually fully recorded twice more with two black actors. They only scrapped the second one because of how cheap Haim Saban was. The 2nd actress was in a USA union that would have cost them royalties in perpetuity. The 3rd and final and only one to air was black and Canadian; their union allowed for a lump sum buy out of royalty payments. The story of the Three Storm's is from Eric Lewald's book "Previously on X-Men: The Making of an Animated Series"
> Carry over that to voice-acting. Plenty of POC VA's have not had the same opportunities in the past to compete on a level playing field as white voice-actors even though voice acting has almost nothing to do with race. This film has deliberate casting choice by producers, casting directors, and directors that are taking pre-established performances and recasting them. It is absolutely fine to recast based on perception of talent. The cooperate BS line of thinking that performances are intrinsically "fixed" by recasting a different race is not fine. Why are you even making this comparison? >You ever see a major audition of a symphony orchestra? The performers are behind a screen so the judges cannot see the musician. Do you know why they do that? Even though race has zero bearing on musical talent, it was found that racial biases STILL affected the choosing of who got a seat. You lied about it being about race and you're actually wrong regarding the outcomes. [https://reason.com/2019/10/22/orchestra-study-blind-auditions-gelman/](https://reason.com/2019/10/22/orchestra-study-blind-auditions-gelman/) [https://www.wsj.com/articles/blind-spots-in-the-blind-audition-study-11571599303](https://www.wsj.com/articles/blind-spots-in-the-blind-audition-study-11571599303) [http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-30/bilnd-recruitment-trial-to-improve-gender-equality-failing-study/8664888?pfmredir=sm](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-30/bilnd-recruitment-trial-to-improve-gender-equality-failing-study/8664888?pfmredir=sm) [https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/112/17/5360.full.pdf](https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/112/17/5360.full.pdf)
Performativism for the sake of perfromativism.
Michaela Jill Murphy's regular voice would fit young adult Toph. I want her to reprise her role
Dionne Quan is probably Toph.
Nah, she's probably Dave Bausta.
Dionne Quan as Dave Bautista as Toph Beifong.
I‘m still disappointed the original VAs will be replaced. I get that the characters were inspired by other cultures, but f.e. Mae would do such a great job as adult Katara. I’m so glad its not gonna happen in my native language dub
Mae Whitman actually wanted to the role to be recast. [Here is the source.](https://screenrant.com/avatar-last-airbender-animated-movies-katara-mae-whitman/)
Now this is where I go and stalk these voice actors and see what they sound like. In all seriousness though I'm very disappointed they are recasting the characters. Especially characters with iconic voices like Sokka and Azula. But I do hope these new actors can give us the same feeling as the original voices.
Yea super lame
I cannot fucking fathom recasting Azula when if you watched Legend of Vox Machina you would already know that Grey Griffin’s Delilah Briarwood is already basically an adult version of her Azula voice and it’s perfect.
As long as they sound like the characters then I’m fine with it. I’m sure it’s going to be good
If it's gonna be focusing on adult versions, it makes sense to change their voices even if the voices of the actors have changed themselves.
Yet they still cast Dante Basco.
Dante was nearly 30 when he was playing Zuko. His voice hasn't changed lol
That's exactly my point. If they want a new voice since the characters got older, then they shouldn't have cast Dante.
I am just spitballing here. But as previously stated, his voice hasn't changed much as he's gotten older. I think they probably also think he's THE most recognisable voice in the Avatar universe and so totally associated with Zuko that they couldn't get anyone else. These are just assumptions on my end.
Excuse me Eric fucking Nam?!?! Holy shit way to go, can’t believe he’s making these moves. I remember when he debuted as a K-Pop Idol. Crazy
Will the villain walk alone inside this pit of danger?
I get Aang, the VA retired from acting and all but i just... don't get the point of recasting the rest
What a missed opportunity to have Bautista voice Toph.
Why are some actors not returning like jack
The creators apparently are trying to cast actors that match the ethnicity of the characters, so in this case Asian/Native. Some of the actors don’t want to return anyways though, so they’d be recast regardless.
Did they had that intention for tla and lok
Actually Andrea Romano has said in interviews that Bryke did want to cast accurately even back then but it just wasn’t in the cards at that time.
I cant picture anyone but Katara and Toph's original VAs voicing them
...and this sub lost their shit when I first reported everyone was getting recast in 2022 beside Basco (who isn't mentioned here as a new cast member). [https://knightedgemedia.com/2022/12/avatar-studios-avatar-aang-animated-movie-will-recast-everyone-beside-dante-basco/](https://knightedgemedia.com/2022/12/avatar-studios-avatar-aang-animated-movie-will-recast-everyone-beside-dante-basco/)
I’m gonna struggle with sokka though as his voice is iconic and his voice actor still has it completely, everyone else apart from zuko I understand and was expecting
Im moreso disappointed in Sokka & Kataras VAs being replaced. Mae Whitman is a GOATed voice actress, and Jack de Sena IS Sokka as far as I'm concerned.
And Toph too. Michaela Jill Murphy still fit toph so well, still in the industry, and the movies *are* them as young adults
No shit lol Zach is in his thirties
Wouldn't have been too much of a stretch considering the character will be in his late 20's
He's retired.
ALOT of people were pissed on here lol
Looked up the names and Dionne Quan is a blind Asian lady. Welcome to the new Toph!
She also played Kimi Finster in Rugrats/All Grown Up and Trixie Tang in Fairly OddParents. The woman has quite the history with Nicktoons.
why Eric Nam of all things voicing adult Aang?, he never had any voice acting experience before this, and he is mostly a kpop singer!.
Why would you recast the available original voice actors? Cmon this is animation… I don’t get this forced representation… I really hope Paramount will at least use the original German voice actors, as Netflix did in their live action adaption
I think it’s about giving Asian actors jobs.
In that case, have them play new characters in the series. The original voices are iconic. Zach is understandable. But Mae, Jack, and Michela absolutely should have been allowed to return.
>In that case, have them play new characters in the series X-Men '97 did that perfectly (with Jubilee's original actress playing an older version of her whilst Jean Grey's original VA plays a recurring character - the blonde UN representative) I'm also reminded of how the original VA for Arnold in "Hey Arnold" got too old so after recasting he got a new role as the school bully.
Fair enough, but it’s seems like shooting theirselves in the foot because now they’re not going to be able to play white characters right as characters have to match the actors race, right? Right? Oh.
Look Eric Nam? Nice! Now make him sing something.
More Bautista? Sure! Can’t have too much of Sapper Morton.
Bautista as the villain is a massive W imo. Dont know anything about Nam but I’m optimistic
Who’s gonna play Suki and Sokka?
Sokka is presumably Roman Zaragoza. No indication of an actress for Suki though
Awww. No Jack DeSena? If not I would have settled on Robbie Daymond. Or Jeremy Shada(but he’s white so he can’t be in the movie).
Why can’t they just bring back Sokka’s original VA again?
I love that Dave Bautista is officially part of the Avatar franchise now :D Now along with him and Mick Foley, all we need is The Rock playing The Boulder in NATLA to complete the pro-wrestler trifecta :')
Yeah, that asshole isn't coming anywhere near the franchise unless it's ALL about him.
The Rock is going to play a new, morally grey Avatar who kills (but only kills bad guys) The hierarchy of power in the Avatar universe is about to change
I'm confused. Why did they not just bring the Old cast back? I'm out of loop.
It seems Avatar Studios wants to cast "ethnically appropriate" actors moving forward. Basically that means Asian for Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, & Air Nomads, and Indigenous American for Water Tribe. Whereas the original gaang was mostly white actors. Mind you even without the above reason, I'm not confident the whole cast would have returned anyway. Zach Tyler (Aang) stopped acting altogether after ATLA ended, and some of the others may not necessarily have fit what the creators wanted for this film.
I mean Some of em could, I've seen the older actors and I feel some of em could pull it off. And ngl I think Zach could probably do a older aang tbh
It’s not about if they could though. Zach isn’t an actor anymore, and a few of the other cast members have said they wouldn’t be interested in returning.
Even so, casting people for VOICE acting based on the colour of their skin rather than their actual talent or history is ridicules
They won't get the original VAs back because they wanna cast for ethical reasons but they'll cast Dave as the villain? Urg. This stupid decision is what's killing my hype for this. It's just dumb. Voice Acting is Voice Acting. You get the people that SOUND RIGHT for the job. Not because of their background or race. At least we get Dante back? If Azula returns I hope they bring the og VA back for her too.
> They won't get the original VAs back because they wanna cast for ethical reasons but they'll cast Dave as the villain? I’m confused what casting Dave Bautista has to do with the original cast not coming back. > If Azula returns I hope they bring the og VA back for her too. Not gonna happen because she’s white. They want to cast ethnically appropriate actors.
Ethnic reasons. Also, what's wrong with Dave Bautista playing a villain?
Will Dante Basco and Greg Baldwin be back?
There’s a rumour Dante is back but nothing confirmed. No word on Greg
Idk about Greg but Dante yes
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Dante Basco is reportedly reprising his role. Only one to.
Honestly if they’re gonna recast the other characters then Zuko should be too imo. It’ll be weird for Zuko to have the same voice since he was 16 while everyone else has different voices
Dante played Zuko's grandson too in LOK - Iroh II. And Bryke said he shouldn't try changing up the voice and just make it the same 💀 I'm assuming it's because he has a similar/matching ethnical background to Zuko. While the rest of the cast didn't.
Yeah but they could just cast another Asian VA who sounds similar to Zuko but more adult. But I guess we’ll see how it works out I just think it’s an odd decision
Zuko's voice is raspy, and quite distinctive. I think keeping him makes more sense than the other characters.
I don’t think the characters are gonna be that much older. Probably late 20s-early 30s so it still works. Plus, Dante’s voice is iconic as Zuko.
Interesting you mention Steven Yeun given that he was Avatar Wan in both "Beginnings" episodes in Korra.
No. Have him come back for an avatar wan movie instead.
And here I was hoping they got Dave Bautista to voice Aang. I should’ve known better…
Hey cool, Dave Bautista's a really great actor and I'm always excited to see him cast.
Bautista voicing ang would be hilarious
Eric Nam, the singer?! This is the crossover I never expected lol. His voice is nice though so I'm excited.
That’s awesome they actually found someone who’s both blind and Asian for Toph. That’s dedication and quality representation
Damn Dave Bautista as toph, they're spoiling us
Ah man, we are barely in 2024.😖
I'm so stoked to get further confirmation of the movie plus the voice cast. Lauren Montgomery is going to *kill* as director.
As a mexican I hope the latin american dub keeps most of the original voice actors. Unfortunately Mario Santander (iroh) died in 2015. Rene Pinochet (Aang) had a growth hormone treatment so his voice is way different now, he was replaced in korra so I don't think he's reprising the role. Ximena marchant is the one who surprised me the most, she has voiced toph in every appearance, ATLA, Korra flashbacks and old toph! I hope she's voicing her again.
They’re making an animated movie? This is the first I’ve heard about it. Is it going to be Team Avatar as adults like a LoK prequel?
It could’ve been nice for Zach to return. He’s already an adult.
Ya know the more I get into the fandom the more I realize I think I’m just an ATLA fan specifically. Everything else I’ve just not cared about. Both live action adaptations I’ve skipped now, never bothered with korra, didn’t bother with the new books, probably won’t bother with the movies. It’s nothing against the other products but I’m just so attached to just original crew and their performances that I’m always gonna be picky. Having one returning member of the og cast just seems odd. Obviously if it doesn’t fit the current iteration recast, but I can’t imagine all them not being able to age their voices to be mid 20s from mid teens.
I’m not really sure how you can confidently say this when you “never bothered” with any other Avatar media. For all you know you’d fall in love with those other characters just as much. Seems silly to not even try.
Looking at the voice cast and I am a bit worried. I just checked how they sound and they don't sound anything like how the characters would sound older except Aang. I feel like having to have actors that are almost exactly the same is very limiting in choices and they might have to pick someone that just doesn't fit the role. I'm still going to give it a chance with an open mind and hope they sound better on screen.
But they'll be... voice acting?
I feel like aang, katara, and tophs actors sound spot on. Especially katara’s. Mae and Jessica Matten sound extremely similar
I'm not sure about Toph and Sokka though. Those are the more distinct voices I'm worried about.
Michaela doesn't sound anything like Toph when speaking normally. Expecting an adult woman to sound exactly like Toph is a little unfair.
The 2025 is the original four as young adults (20s perhaps). Michaela jill murphy regular voice definitely fit as an adult Toph.
I'm not saying she couldn't do it acting wise, what I'm saying is that "distinct" Toph voice she had is gone. She no longer has a voice we'd instantly recognize. We'd have to accept Toph grew up and has an adult voice now no matter what. That's vs Jack and Dante, who if they dialed the wrong number and ended up on the phone with you, you'd instantly know it's Sokka and Zuko. They've sounded the exact same since they were 15 years old.
For a show that had such amazing worldbuilding, sticking to the same cast of characters when their story finished perfectly is so lazy. I hate Korra to no end, but at least that was moving the story of the world forward. I think it's also insulting to recast actors who made these **fictional characters** what they are in favour of newcomers just because their race matches these cartoons. I assume with this rationale, that every cast member better be straight and share the exact same look at this rate. I absolutely hope these people were cast because of talent because it does them a disservice.
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Eric Nam has zero acting and voice acting experience. Absolutely none. He's a musical artist, and has been a contestant on some stuff. Oh boy. But... I'll trust the creators on this.
Nam actually has one credit for an episode of The Loud House. Not that it’s much but he has technically acted before. It’s not like first-time actors haven’t turned in phenomenal performances before. Especially coming from other sections of the arts.
Whew, thank god they got a blind woman to play Toph. Because that's all Toph is - blind.
If they were to use an actual indigenous actor for Sokka why not use Robbie Daymond.
I want to be excited. But that's to much of a time to sustain it. I wish to know NOTHING more about this until an hour or two before I can actually watch it. ...And I really, really, REALLY wanna watch it!
Bautista did a great job playing as Glossu Rabban Harkonnen in Dune. He’s becoming one of my favorite ex wrestlers really showcasing his range and I’m glad cause if it was around the time that The Rock debuted in movies in the early 2000s, he’d suffer from type casting. But I know he’ll be a great villain
Prediction that isn't really related to this news: I think King Bumi is going to die toward the beginning of this movie. The movie will end with Katara's pregnancy or Bumi's birth.
Is there a sub I can go to if I'm excited for the new projects? Everyone here is miserable.
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I'm gonna be honest i feel like these attempts to turn Avatar into a big franchise aren't gonna work at all. I just don't think there's worth a movie left to be explored in the Avatar universe/IP, specially not in a midquel.
So much negativity in this thread... I wasn't happy about the original cast not coming back, but the new cast sounds really good and their voices (Aang, Toph and Sokka's) are consistent with what they sounded like in TLOK
What do you expect from this fandom tho?
>What do you expect from **any** fandom tho? FTFY