Shyamalan's 'Airbender' Gets 2010 Release Date
Filed under: Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Paramount, Family Films, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
M. Night Shyamalan's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender now has a release date, according to Variety. Fans of the popular Nickelodeon series can circle their calenders for July 2nd, 2010 -- and start complaining about the title change. In order to avoid confusion with James Cameron's Avatar, the film will now simply be titled The Last Airbender. The anime series follows a young hero who has the ability to manipulate the elements, and who must stop a ruthless nation from crushing everything in its path. It is heavily influenced by anime legend Hayao Miyazaki, which Shyamalan says was the big appeal of the project. "In The Last Airbender, I see an opportunity to make a live-action version of a Miyazaki film," Shyamalan said. He is penning the script himself, which may give fans a pause. There's been talk that an adaptation is just what Shyamalan needs to get his storytelling focus back on track -- but if he's doing the writing, there's no telling where this could go.
Shyamalan also gave a big, exclusive interview to Empire on the project -- there's nary a mention of Miyazaki here, but he discusses the mythological and philosophical overtones that drew him to the story. "Buddhist and Hindu philosophies run through the stuff. When I realized that is what it was, it really drew me as the template for putting storytelling on a new level. There is a kind of thread that connects Star Wars and The Matrix – the first one. That same thread is in this story, about a forgotten belief system, or the illusion of the world now."
With a release date, expect casting announcements soon. I've never been lured into the series, but let me say that I hope Jason Isaacs plays the live action version of his character. He makes all movies cool.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-16-2008 @ 9:23AM
mikael said...
Hmm i don't know about making a film of the series.. I don't think that thas going to work.. I love the serie and thats why I dont want a bad movie about it
And Avatar isen't a anime! it is influence by "a main stream anime style" and Miyazaki don't have anything to do with this serie. The serie isen't japanese its american.
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4-16-2008 @ 9:31AM
eugene said...
Man, I hope shyamalan doesn't frak this up. And if all he's seeing is the very obvious hindu aspects, I'm worried because Avatar has some pretty distinct daoist thinking behind it.
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4-16-2008 @ 9:51AM
Brice_J said...
i've been waiting on news from this project for a while now..i sincerely hope shyamalan gets back on track for this... (i'm not a fan of 'the village' or 'lady in the water') i've heard that it might actually be a trilogy which, in my opinion, would be nice!! & the fact that the series has obvious influences from miyazaki makes it even more exciting!
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4-16-2008 @ 10:11AM
John R said...
Avatar is not an anime.
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4-16-2008 @ 11:18AM
Ryan A. said...
Correct. Avatar: The Last Airbender is produced by Nickelodeon in North America. It is american animation, not anime. Although I can see how that mistake could be made. I thought it was anime for the first few episodes until I noticed, hey, it's made by Nickelodeon.
5-21-2008 @ 5:34PM
dmarsee said...
It's an American-conceived, written and recorded production from Nickelodeon. However, it's ANIMATED by a few South Korean studios, who are famous for anime.
http://www.fame-us.org/1007_koreandirectors.html
4-16-2008 @ 10:26AM
Noah said...
I want to see that giant buffalo dog thing.
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4-16-2008 @ 10:30AM
kel said...
I'm looking forward to this as well. Say what you wish about the plot twists, M Night knows how to get strong performances out of child actors.
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4-16-2008 @ 11:21AM
Claire said...
he didn't say it was anime. he just said he wanted to make a live action version of a Miyazaki-style film, probably meaning he wants it to be coming of age or something. anyhow i hope its good.
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4-16-2008 @ 11:26AM
Claire said...
never mind i managed to miss that second paragraph. still it'll probably be coming of age.
4-16-2008 @ 11:45AM
uforeader said...
did anyone actually read the article? "It is heavily influenced by anime legend Hayao Miyazaki." It doesn't say it's anime or that Miyazaki is involved.
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4-16-2008 @ 12:45PM
John R said...
@uforeader:
Did you actually read the article?
"The ANIME [my emphasis] series follows a young hero who..."
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4-16-2008 @ 9:05PM
AJ said...
i'm a HUGE fan and the best news is the title change. Avatar isn't his name, it's aang and while he is the avatar it will just get confusing because there are several different avatars that play important roles in the series. So The Last Airbender is just fine as long as it's subtitled like PotC.
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5-21-2008 @ 2:27PM
Chris said...
only it turns out that he was in a program and he was being used as an avatar... or something... Seriously though, I love Shaymalan.
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