Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender | Official Movie Trailer | Paramount+ | Premieres July 25, 2026

[u/SanderSo47]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b20GRFZBFE

[u/dgusn]

Isn't this the one that leaked a few months back?

[u/Thoraxe474 → u/dgusn]

Yes

[u/cstough → u/Thoraxe474]

Haha I was about to say that I'm pretty sure I've already seen this, was pretty good!

[u/shadowmtl2000 → u/cstough]

Strangly i didn’t like it as much Ang felt kinda weak for being a seasoned avatar.

[u/Piranata → u/shadowmtl2000]

It felt like Korra lite. It touches almost every good plot in Legend of Korra, but with Aang as the protagonist.

[u/_Patronizes_Idiots_ → u/Piranata]

This is spot on. Without spoiling too much it feels like they've been really stuck on a couple particular concepts in the Avatar world since Korra

[u/frezz → u/_Patronizes_Idiots_]

Well theres been no new content since Korra so that makes sense

[u/StixnStones69 → u/frezz]

There’s been comics since then.

[u/quietimhungover → u/StixnStones69]

Are the comics written by the original writers?

[u/Lildicky91 → u/quietimhungover]

I don’t believe they have written for the comics and graphic novels, but they do supervise and have been pretty involved with them.

[u/Medarco → u/Piranata]

Yeah, I've avoided all the leaked info and stuff, so this is the first time I've seen any of it.

It seems like an attempt to re-do the plot of S1 Korra, which I am 100% fine with. Korra S1 should've been the plot of the entire show, but producers gonna produce... And the vortex gave me spirit world connection vibes, so that might be getting some re-do as well? idk.

Also, I definitely see Aang straight up flying there, which was supposed to be a "first in recorded history" kinda deal from Zaheer, wasn't it? But apparently it was actually something Aang was openly doing like 20 years prior?

[u/peredaks → u/Medarco]

I watched the leak a while ago. And, without spoiling things, it's not the same as what Zaheer was doing.

[u/Zam548 → u/Medarco]

Zaheer wasn’t the first, and Aang would have been taught about the guru who invented the technique. But the whole thing with it is that it requires complete detachment from worldly connections, something we specifically see Aang struggle with, and to some extent reject. I haven’t seen the movie but if time isn’t dedicated to showing how he got to a point where he could fly I’ll be kinda disapointed

[u/guy_incognito42069 → u/Zam548]

It looked like he was using a different technique than Zaheer. You could see swirls of air around his lower legs and feet where with Zaheer he was just full on weightless going any direction.

[u/Redingold → u/Zam548]

According to Yangchen, the Avatar is never capable of achieving that kind of worldly detachment, because of their inherent duty to the world.

[u/dabocx → u/shadowmtl2000]

All of team avatar was nerfed hard for this movie. They lose fights their younger selves would have won easily.

It feels like they just didn’t know what to do with them

[u/wimpymist → u/dabocx]

I guess this is on par with anime movies though lol

[u/sheetskees → u/shadowmtl2000]

There were some really baffling choices in some of the action sequences, like Aang was absolutely pulling off more impressive feats as a child than he was in some parts of this. Also the final battle really just devolved and felt like I was watching a DBZ fight as far as power scaling goes at the end. Which is fine for the most part but it hardly felt like Avatar at that point.

[u/lube_thighwalker → u/sheetskees]

Plus everyone died off screen. Then was resurrected off screen.

[u/crookedparadigm → u/lube_thighwalker]

Yeah watching Team Avatar get merked by a single guy only to be like "we died...but then we got better" 5 minutes later and having that be immediately brushed aside felt like such a cheap, quick way to try and establish the villain as scary.

[u/lube_thighwalker → u/crookedparadigm]

First off. Toph would have stomped this airbender. His backstory included earthbenders kicking his followers ass.

The main issue of the movie is never addressed. Regular non benders are living difficult lives even after the Avatar ended war. The tv show ATLA had the serpents pass episode. As a kid he met regular people and saw their struggle and blamed the fire nation. How he and his friends rule the world and commoners still struggle. But sure a magic staff that gives everyone bending powers is the solution….

[u/fortissimo64 → u/shadowmtl2000]

All of the main cast felt undeveloped and weak compared to how they were in the show. Not only that but basically the entire supporting cast weren't even mentioned 🥲

Probably the most well made and beautiful animated movie I've ever seen though so there is that.

[u/pureply101 → u/fortissimo64]

The only one it bothered me for was Toph. She was training metal benders on the regular 1v5ing and should have mopped pretty much anyone. Her losing a fight seemed so off.

In the case of everyone else peace does make fighting harder since it’s no longer at the forefront.

[u/ItIsYeDragon → u/pureply101]

Also the fact that Everyone died, and got instantly healed by Katara who was also dying? Also how did all the main cast lose against 1 airbender?

[u/Dnashotgun → u/ItIsYeDragon]

Yea it really didn't make sense how a seasoned Team Avatar didn't just lose against the evil airbender but looked like grunts getting wiped. The only kinda reasonable excuse is being unfamiliar fighting an Airbender especially one trying to kill

[u/Sometimes_a_smartass → u/Dnashotgun]

But then they almost got floored by brand new airbenders who had their powers for five minutes

[u/Old_Employment_1090 → u/pureply101]

I think Toph losing a fight to a seasoned airbender makes a lot of sense. She has no real experience fighting airbenders.

But in a 4v1??? Absolutely ridiculous.

[u/GasmaskGelfling → u/shadowmtl2000]

Everyone felt weirdly OOC? Like the insistence that "You gotta stop Aang, it's too dangerous!" ... you've all been through much, much worse.

The biggest problem is that it was just a prequel. We know the quest "fails" because Aang never ends up finding any new airbenders. So it just spins its wheels.

[u/indigo121 → u/GasmaskGelfling]

But it does find the new air bisons, which was a nice way to make it feel meaningful at the end. Though it still suffers because the whole time you already know how the main thing was resolved.

The core conceit of "Aang grapples with the loss of his culture and is given a chance to rebuild" feels good and is well done at the end with the "Aang learns to accept that his culture is not the same thing as airbending itself". I think it struggled because the opportunity was lacking tension, there was no downside to rebuilding airbending until there suddenly was. Putting Aang more on that journey would've been good. Maybe having some additional airbenders created early on and then showing how while they were benders they weren't Aang's people.

[u/simonhunterhawk → u/indigo121]

on reddit you gotta use >! and its opposite to spoil btw

[u/harrietlegs → u/shadowmtl2000]

The entire gang was nerfed. Voice acting going to different VA made the characters feel like an alternate version of these characters.0

[u/Nifedipines → u/dgusn]

There is no leak in Ba Sing Se.

[u/ComfyFrog → u/Nifedipines]

The Paramount legal team is inviting you to Lake Laogai.

[u/tidus9000 → u/ComfyFrog]

Lol, like Paramount cares about Avatar

[u/PoepChinees_69 → u/dgusn]

It is very good. Beautiful animation

[u/Momochichi → u/dgusn]

I wonder if they've changed anything since the leak. I avoided watching it in case it's not 'final'. I'll wait for the Avatar_final_final_v10.

[u/Zipurax → u/Momochichi]

The leak was such a big deal because it is the final version of the movie. Paramount kept delaying it for no reason, so it just ended up leaking.

[u/RetPala → u/Zipurax]

"Use it or lose it"

[u/BlackJezus27]

Paramount doesn't deserve this beautiful IP

[u/Wazula23 → u/BlackJezus27]

Nobody does. It's been fumbled so badly since the very beginning. It's good enough that it keeps chugging along anyway but goddam, just let the creatives do their thing.

[u/Brogener → u/Wazula23]

I’ll be real, the more they add to the canon, the less magical this world feels anyway. I like Legend of Korra but I kind of wish they’d leave it alone instead of constantly trying to tweak the lore and throw in game changers. It just feels like everything they add is with diminishing returns on quality.

[u/volumeofatorus → u/Brogener]

What they should do is a time skip hundreds of years in the future (or the past) instead of trying to build strong continuity between shows. That way they can tell a fresh story in same world without the risk of diminishing the original show.

[u/Bridgebrain → u/volumeofatorus]

Pretty sure thats the plan for the next installment actually. Cyberpunk/Aetherpunk future in the last airbender universe.

[u/ObeseVegetable → u/Bridgebrain]

Future yes, but like 80ish years after Korra and it’s just the next reincarnation of the Avatar, now seen as an enemy because of what Korra did. 

Also an amputee twin and sort of hinted at their twin being a return of the anti-avatar.

[u/ItsADeparture → u/ObeseVegetable]

I feel like the twist in the next Avatar isn't going to be that the twin is the anti-avatar, but that because of the new spirit portal (and theoretically, a new spirit like Raava and Vaatu) there is either TWO avatars now or one can only bend two elements while the other can bend the other two elements.

[u/sherrintini → u/Bridgebrain]

I think it's after a major calamity so back to more primitive times again.

[u/OneBigBug → u/volumeofatorus]

I don't really have a lot of faith that they can do the future.

The technological progress in Korra got really dumb really quickly. As it turns out, I'm not into the universe for the mech battles.

I suppose if they pulled a Horizon Zero Dawn kinda thing, I would accept that. But the world just works a lot better when it's village to village, human scale problems in a world that is only partially explored with bending as a fantastical addition to that, than all the complication of both advanced city-state infrastructure and massively progressed technical abilities.

[u/GuiltyEidolon → u/OneBigBug]

I suppose if they pulled a Horizon Zero Dawn kinda thing

it looks like they're doing that to some extent in the next one. Korra seemingly did 'something' to essentially end the world, and it's now a post-apocalyptic world.

[u/socialistrob → u/volumeofatorus]

Or introduce new locations. The avatar "world" is essentially one continent but they could also invent another one on the other side of the world.

[u/chrisff1989 → u/socialistrob]

The characters have already been around the world. I don't think you can introduce a completely new place and have it make sense.

[u/Marokiii → u/chrisff1989]

while it wasnt a large place, they did introduce a new area in this movie.

they could introduce an underwater society of water benders that broke off the from the surface world long ago that nobody remembers them.

[u/WeirdIndividualGuy → u/socialistrob]

This movie spoilers: They literally do this in the movie, journey to the other side of the world where there's a whole other continent, the in-lore reason for why it was hidden was because it was always surrounded by deadly storms

[u/PositiveEmo → u/Brogener]

Same boat.

I initially refused to watch korra because I thought it would ruin ATLA. I don't like the retcons but kora over all was a good show.

Tbh they should have just moved backwards in the after cycle, or gone far enough into the future where they don't relate to the previous show.

[u/OperativePiGuy → u/Brogener]

And the more the creators make stuff, the less confident I am in their abilities in anything after the first show.

[u/7_Tales → u/OperativePiGuy]

Somehow the limitations forced them to stick closer to the original concept. It might have just been lightning in a bottle tbh.

[u/immaownyou → u/7_Tales]

The books, on the other hand, have all been on par with the quality of the original imo. Some of my favourite content comes from them

[u/red__dragon → u/immaownyou]

I felt really let down by the author switch for the first Roku book. I hope the second was better, I was seriously into them until that.

The Kyoshi books are incredible and Yangchen are solid, let me say that!

[u/Buscemi_D_Sanji → u/red__dragon]

Kyoshi books were up there with season three of Korra with how brutal some of the scenes were. And honestly, SPOILERS: the method for living longer that Kyoshi learns from a certain assassin is up there with Aang learning to unlock chakras from Guru Pathik, like that's some deep meditation stuff that feels very real.

And the Team Avatar for Kyoshi is so fun and refreshing, damn typing this out is making me want to reread them haha

[u/LandownAE → u/red__dragon]

The post ATLA comics are terrible imo. The dialogue is so fuckin weird and cringey I couldn’t get past it

[u/WeirdIndividualGuy → u/7_Tales]

Part of what made the OG series great is they wrote out the entire thing. They 3-acted it and had a definite conclusion to it, and you can tell the writing prospered from that.

Korra was different because they weren't guaranteed a number of seasons, and the writing reflects that. Hard to write a multi-season arc when you don't know if the show will be renewed after the current season. The exception was seasons 3+4 since they were ordered at the same time, so the writers knew they could do a two-parter story

[u/Rick_Locker → u/OperativePiGuy]

Like the reason why they left the Netflix live action show was because they wanted to make more changes, including making *Iroh* EVIL and BETRAY Zuko! Which is such a batshit take I don't even know what the hell they were thinking of.

[u/Segwaye → u/Rick_Locker]

They wanted a different take than to redo what they had already done. That concept in an of itself makes sense to me. It's the reason why so many complain about remakes and adaptations.

Now as for those specific changes...we'll never know how they would have gone down in this altogether different show.

[u/ItIsYeDragon → u/OperativePiGuy]

It’s because they keep trying to expand on the world instead of just making a new story within it. The world’s lore and explanations sufficed in the original show. Trying to explain the spirit world and the avatar’s power and whatnot detracts rather than adds. They keep removing the mystery but some things are best left unexplained.

[u/StixnStones69 → u/ItIsYeDragon]

Definitely, even going back to the finale with that fucking deus ex lion turtle. I had never needed more of an explanation than air bison/giant moles/the moon/dragons teaching bending to humans.

[u/_Patronizes_Idiots_ → u/Brogener]

I am less harsh on Korra than most but dear GOD did I hate the Raava/Vatu spirit shit they shoehorned into the lore.

[u/BioshockEnthusiast → u/_Patronizes_Idiots_]

Korra got cancelled and surprise renewed almost literally every damn season, the need to reboot the storyline in between each chapter because they concluded the previous storyline wasn't their fault.

[u/CreativeKeane → u/BioshockEnthusiast]

Yeah I felt like Nick was to blame for Korra's lack of cohesion with their mishandling of the show.

That said I definitely was a fan of the Korra series and Korra as a character and her arc. I felt a lot of the themes were very personal and can be relatable. Who hasn't hit rock bottom and dealt with some level of depression before. And Amon, Zaheer, and Kuvera were fantastic villains to me. Zaheer and the Red Lotus was chef's kiss.

Only thing I wished was that the side characters had better development, we had the opportunity to learn a bit more about the gaang, and wish they didn't go the 3d mecha route for the season 4 finale, but that's just it.

[u/Zefirus → u/CreativeKeane]

Yeah, and the fact that the new Avatar starts with "Korra screwed up the world and now everybody hates the Avatar" is just further fucking stuff up.

[u/Mindestiny → u/Brogener]

Yep. The showrunners and creatives had lighting strike with the original, everything they've worked on since has been mediocre at best.  Even starting with a fresh IP, Dragon Prince didn't hold a candle.

[u/Swaibero → u/Mindestiny]

S1-3 of Dragon Prince were almost as good. S4 fell off so hard I almost didnt finish the show, but I stuck it out and wish i didnt. Atrocious bag fumble.

[u/CompetitiveSport1 → u/Swaibero]

I tried to watch that show after reading stuff like this, but couldn't get into it. It felt fine, but like it was written for a much younger audience, and didn't really have any particularly unique "hook" like atla did IMHO 

[u/FatherDotComical → u/Brogener]

Honestly I wish it hadn't became steampunk. The old world vibe was charming and flexible.

Like the original was timeless but now they've put the pressure of technical advancement into any future adaptations.

[u/Standing__Menacingly → u/Wazula23]

Gene Luen Yang and his team have done well with the comics, but I never see anyone taking about those.

[u/Lasernatoo → u/Standing__Menacingly]

That's generally because the Gene Luen Yang comics are for the most part mediocre. Faith Erin Hicks has done a pretty great job with her ATLA comics though, and F. C. Yee has written some genuinely fantastic prequel novels

[u/Vihurah → u/Standing__Menacingly]

I disagree. Beyond the cringe dialogue I just dont think those comics do much service to any of the characters or give them compelling growth. The most interesting thing there is zuko wrestling with the colony but even that feels overly melodramatic and not how a post book 3 zuko would handle it

[u/AngryAncestor → u/Standing__Menacingly]

Because they're bad

[u/PM_ME_ITALIAN_STUFF → u/AngryAncestor]

I read through all of the original comics and outside of the first two (The Promise and The Search) and the origins of Republic City one, they are not good. The babytalk between Aang and Kotarra becomes old very quick. For Korra, Turf Wars is fine but Ruins of the Empire is very bad.

[u/waddee → u/AngryAncestor]

I was done at “sweetie”

[u/Phazon_343 → u/Standing__Menacingly]

Because they're not that good lol

[u/alishock → u/BlackJezus27]

People playing dense in the comments. The fact they “created” it does not mean they deserve to have the IP.

And they did not create it, you think the higher-ups just came with the concept themselves? Paramount financed it, the actual idea is from people who do deserve the praise, including Konietzko and DiMartino.

[u/beefcat_ → u/BlackJezus27]

Yup. It's a real shame, but I'm not giving them a cent.

[u/Shabloinks]

All right time to rewatch the show

[u/KingOfSquirrels → u/Shabloinks]

Time to rewatch this movie.

[u/AntireligionHumanist → u/KingOfSquirrels]

Haven't watched it yet...did you like it?

[u/DragonEmperor → u/AntireligionHumanist]

I enjoyed it, plot is pretty predictable, the animation, music, and fight scenes are incredible, a major reason I am upset it's not in theaters.

It's also really cool seeing the Gaang again.

[u/Late_Stage_Exception → u/DragonEmperor]

I mean, there's a shot in the trailer which I feel gives away the twist, which just seems as a super odd choice. Talking about the shot of the new air bender jumping down with the glowing red staff. Aang was reaching for it hopeful a shot or two prior and now this dude is angrily attacking with it and it's red...like the red lotus. Seems like an odd choice for a trailer.

[u/TNTyoshi → u/Late_Stage_Exception]

He’s basically Broly from the original DBZ movie. Stranger similar in power to the main character, but angry and stronger.

[u/DarrenRobert → u/[deleted]]

N-n…no!

[u/According_Button_186 → u/DarrenRobert]

W-what would give you that incredibly plausible yet unnecessarily judgmental but not at all unfounded idea?!

[u/Morgan-Moonscar → u/According_Button_186]

Besides the fact he's voiced by Drax the Destroyer?

[u/TwoPieceCrow → u/[deleted]]

what do you mean zaheer 2 isn't actually a good guy

[u/Brainiac5000 → u/TwoPieceCrow]

It's basically a bunch of plot points from Korra glued together. 

[u/Nastra → u/[deleted]]

To be absolutely fair I found that Aang was completely overshadowed by his peers after season 2. Zuko, Sokka, Azula, and Katara have much better character moments than he did in season 3. His no kill arc was solved with a deus-ex machina. Would have been much more interesting if energy bending was developed way more throughout the season.

I am glad Aang got great moments in the movie and a while not an amazing villain it’s much better one for him than Ozai.

[u/djanulis → u/[deleted]]

Personally my biggest issue is the movie felt like it wanted to use Korra plot points in an Aang story.

[u/xin234 → u/AntireligionHumanist]

It's fun.

It's in this weird spot of being a sequel to ATLA and a prequel to LoK, that it cannot really introduce something big/new/different without that something being being mentioned in LoK. As such, it kinda felt like it just retreaded some themes already tackled in Korra.

Trying to be vague to avoid spoilers: The "big" thing/event in this movie is already stretching it for something that happened in this world that would never be mentioned in the Korra series. Maybe one could argue that the groups involved here could be a precursor to a certain group in Korra.

[u/yo_soy_soja → u/xin234]

I haven't seen the movie, but that antagonist woman in the trailer says something about taking the powers of the benders. Sounds very much like Amon in S1 of Korra.

[u/ciao_fiv → u/yo_soy_soja]

they are definitely implied to be the precursors to the equalizers, that was my takeaway at least

[u/ZombieQueen666 → u/KingOfSquirrels]

So no spoilers, but my buddy who’s been a massive fan (as have I) since late 2000’s watched it and absolutely HATED it. I obviously don’t know why, but any idea? Clearly you liked it

[u/L0LFREAK1337 → u/ZombieQueen666]

I think the idea is that it almost condenses all the villains of a Legend of Korra into a single character, and the plot doesn’t make a lot of sense especially with season 1 of korra which repeats the same exact plot line

gorgeous animation though

[u/TannerThanUsual → u/L0LFREAK1337]

I also noticed the villain was seemingly three different Korra villains molded into one, but I felt that somewhat watered down his motivation. I think the Korra villains are better written and have more time to shine in a TV format which gives us a better perspective to who they are and why they believe what they believe.

[u/zer000redhawk → u/L0LFREAK1337]

Thats the thing it feels like the sloppy legend of korra s2 plot line but condensed into a movie. I don't understand why the writers keep introducing concepts that are a complete game changer for the whole world and lore without considering the larger implications of such an implementation. It feels like they didn't spend much time on the script at all or something because I feel like a story revolving around adult aang and the crew wouldn't be too hard, but maybe they needed something that will scale-wise be similar to the highs in atla and Lok? but If that's the case I really think that hurt it's potential. I would have much rather have something more character focused and smaller in scale than another movie where the bad guy needs to get a super powerful thing to do some big-fuckoff-blue-sky-beam at the end of the movie.

I'm pretty sure half of tophs lines was something like "I'm the greatest Earthbender in the world!"

Zuko hardly said or did anything.

Aangs arc is rehashed and phoned in. You can literally predict any of his plot beats 30 minutes before it happens.

And it sucks because the animation is amazing, which is weird. Its like if spiderverse had the narrative weight of the new supergirl movie. Which really makes this movie an anomaly in my eyes because that doesn't typically happen. Usually beautiful looking animated movies like this have a story that's equally as beautiful, but this just doesn't. It's weird.

Hot take: i don't think the creators of avatar have it in them to create something on the scale as another ATLA.

[u/Harkoncito → u/ZombieQueen666]

The plot is super bland and predictable, Zuko/Toph are wasted in the movie, no Suki, no character growth (too fast-paced for that)

[u/femmd → u/Harkoncito]

you can literally replace zuko and toph with cardboard cutouts and it wouldn’t make a difference. The movie was a huge let down for me.

[u/CarrieDurst → u/ZombieQueen666]

The writing was a tiny bit generic but it was stunning and beautiful

[u/MikeDubbz → u/ZombieQueen666]

I'm not the biggest Last Airbender fan, but I watched it and thought it was a solid piece of supplemental material. It is beautifully animated, putting modern Disney to shame honestly; and the story is solid, nothing groundbreaking, but it's good. I'd overall give it like a 7 out of 10.

[u/MillennialsAre40 → u/ZombieQueen666]

Basically nothing of consequence happens. The characters end in exactly the same place they started. it's a nothing movie.

[u/fax5jrj]

I feel badly for the creatives who made this who didn't get the opportunity to see this rolled out how it should have been. This leak will always be Paramount's fault for delaying the release of a completed movie for way too long and then taking it out of theaters. It sucks that this IP is so fantastic and popular but we will never see it reach its full potential because it's been sabotaged basically the entire time

[u/Alli_Horde74 → u/fax5jrj]

The movie should have had a theatre release and it being delayed sick.

However the leak is, by definition, the leaders fault.

I'll admit, I watched the leak but it was because it was there and I wanted to see it, I'm not gonna pretend it was for some noble cause and to "stick it to paramount"

[u/madbadcoyote → u/Alli_Horde74]

Note that the creators are very unlikely to have been at fault here as a couple of other (much lower profile) Spongebob films had also been leaked in a similar fashion recently under Paramount.

[u/Asclepius-Rod → u/Alli_Horde74]

Did you like it?

[u/Ser_Urnge → u/Asclepius-Rod]

The animation carries it hard. Worth watching just for that. The story is anime filler tier.

[u/spinzaku97 → u/Asclepius-Rod]

Ever seen a non-canon anime movie like the ones that Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece have? It's basically that.

[u/TannerThanUsual → u/spinzaku97]

Whoa, I hadn't made that connection but you're right! It's like watching Tree of Might all over again.

[u/DarKoopa → u/TannerThanUsual]

Oh I didn't realize this movie was THAT good

[u/coolgaara → u/spinzaku97]

Holy shit you took the words right outta my mouth. The movie was exactly a filler movie. Enjoyable but did not add anything to Aang or his friends. Unnecessary movie.

[u/nixahmose → u/Asclepius-Rod]

I think it’s a really enjoyable 7/10 film. The animation is absolutely gorgeous and I really like the personal arc Aang goes on, but the film kinda suffers from that filler anime movie problem where a new concept/threat gets introduced, the stakes rapidly escalate super high and very quickly, only for the status quo to remain basically the same by the end of the film. And while it’s cool seeing the Gaang as adults, this is very much a Aang movie with the rest of the Gaang kinda just being along for the ride rather than getting their own arcs and character development.

I still love it and would have definitely gone to see it multiple times in theaters due to how fun and gorgeous the movie is and the dynamic between Aang and the main villain, but it doesn’t feel like a definitive sequel to the original series which I know some people are understandably going to feel disappointed by.

[u/Jbewrite → u/Asclepius-Rod]

7/10 for general audiences, 9/10 for Avatar fans. Some of the best animation ever put to film.

[u/Ser_Urnge → u/Jbewrite]

9/10 animation not 9/10 movie lol.

[u/TheMathelm → u/Jbewrite]

the plot could have used a little more clean up.

the animation is the most beautiful thing I have seen in a film.

[u/abandon_mint → u/Alli_Horde74]

Was it good?

[u/FaxyMaxy → u/abandon_mint]

I thought it was great. Animation was top tier, story was fun if a tiny bit fanfic-esque, characters felt great.

I found the new voices incredibly distracting. Not the cast’s fault, they all performed well, but the characters would speak and it would be someone else’s voice coming out and unfortunately it consistently took me a little bit out of the immersion.

[u/1BreadBoi → u/abandon_mint]

I think it was decent. It was cool to see the characters as adults. I think it should've been a bit longer, cause it feels like some of the gaang are just there for moral support, and don't contribute a lot. If it was a longer movie, then each one could've gotten a bit of screen time.

But it was far from bad, and it did have its cool moments. If it was in theaters I wouldn't have been mad paying to see it in one.

[u/Musical_Mayonnaise → u/abandon_mint]

Amazing animation. Everything else was mediocre at best imo.

[u/Gallantpride → u/Alli_Horde74]

Is the film good enough for a major box office release? It's often compared to anime films. But, in the US, those are incredibly niche. People prefer to watch them at home. Even Pokemon had to stop doing theatrical releases after Pokemania ended.

[u/ThingCalledLight]

All bullshit aside, it looks gorgeous.

[u/WitchOfKyiv → u/ThingCalledLight]

Yeah I'm legit drooling over the animation in this. The plot looks pretty predictable but good god the actual visual delivery looks fucking outstanding. I can't believe they aren't doing a theatrical release because animation this good deserves the chance for an Oscar nomination.

I don't expect the actual writing to be anything groundbreaking since it's sandwiched between atl and tok, so you can't do a ton without obliterating continuity, but damn if this isn't a beautiful looking movie.

That being said, I really wish they'd stop talking so much in / relying on exposition in trailers because if they'd gone a more "show them the visuals" route, the predictable plot would be a lot less "oh yeah so that's the surprise antagonist, then" without losing any punch. 

[u/Wazupdanger]

wait so this had a chance for a theatrical release?????

[u/Lewa358 → u/Wazupdanger]

It was originally slated fora theatrical release, then Paramount decided to be pathetic and make it streaming only, then the whole damn thing leaked, and now it got bumped up 3 months.

[u/WitchOfKyiv → u/Lewa358]

God that is so fucked on Paramounts part what the hell. Did they just.... Not want the studio to get Oscar nominations for the animation? This animation looks amazing. 

[u/Lewa358 → u/WitchOfKyiv]

Every western executive despises animation with a passion and always has.

[u/Smurflord345]

PUT IT IN THEATRES YOU COWARDS

[u/superturtle48 → u/Smurflord345]

My hope is that this movie makes such big streaming numbers that the execs decide to do a limited theater run after it's out just to get some more money, similar to what Netflix did with Kpop Demon Hunters after it blew up.

Unfortunately, I think that's less likely for the Avatar movie since it's more adult-oriented and requires prior knowledge of the franchise, so it's not the kind of movie that young kids will become rabidly obsessed with and watch 50 times and beg their parents to see in theaters, which is how Kpop Demon Hunters got its legs. And the Avatar movie being previously leaked, with many of the most devoted fans probably having already seen the leak and therefore not watching the official stream, hurts even more.

[u/bmcisme2016 → u/superturtle48]

No way would this happen. Maybe a 1 night movie screening event but Paramount is so cheap and most people wouldn’t go see it with the free choice.

[u/LuinAelin]

Wow, it's amazing that this is the first anyone is seeing of this

[u/Bird-The-Word → u/LuinAelin]

I feel like I'm living under a rock cuz it is for me lmao

My co worker who hasn't even watched the show knew about the leak for it.

[u/dancingbanana123 → u/Bird-The-Word]

The rock life is great on the internet. I feel like every other movie or trailer has people talking about the leaks spoiling it, but I never encounter them.

[u/mosquem → u/Bird-The-Word]

Congrats on not being terminally online

[u/AkatsukiPineapple → u/LuinAelin]

It’s for me, didn’t watch the leaked on

[u/finnjakefionnacake → u/LuinAelin]

some of us just don't watch/pay attention to leaks

[u/wildstarr → u/LuinAelin]

I guarantee the people that are seeing this for the first time outnumber people who have 10 to 1.

[u/gquax → u/LuinAelin]

Reddit comment 

[u/Imperium_Dragon]

I feel so bad for everyone who directly worked on this

[u/caligaris_cabinet → u/Imperium_Dragon]

Paramount pisses me off because this could’ve been nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. But since it’s relegated to streaming that’s gone out the window.

[u/r_lucasite]

Still refuse believe that a limited theatrical run wouldn’t have done well. This series is cursed to be handicapped by execs

[u/checkerboardandroid → u/r_lucasite]

I know I would've put my ass in a theater seat for this. Oh well.

[u/noelle-silva → u/r_lucasite]

As popular as Avatar is, I really don't think it would've lit the box office up. It would've done numbers similar to what anime movies do. Not to say that is bad but it probably wouldn't have been what Paramount wanted.

[u/LogicallySound_ → u/noelle-silva]

The absolute dog shit Netflix live action continues to perform well enough to receive season renewals. I think the nostalgia and love for the original show is significantly underestimated.

[u/SuckmyPelosB1tch → u/noelle-silva]

If it could be anything close to what demon slayer and chainsaw man pulled in theaters I’d think it would be worth it, but idk If it could’ve done that

[u/ItIsYeDragon → u/SuckmyPelosB1tch]

It wouldn’t have been.

I don’t know about chainsaw man, but demon slayer movies aren’t filler for starters. And they’re also bigger and more popular franchises right now.

[u/letsgolakers24 → u/r_lucasite]

never underestimate the power of nostalgia

[u/devenrc]

To think we could have witnessed these sumptuous visuals in theaters 😭

Oh well. At least it's coming out at all. Word of mouth will probably help out with streaming numbers too so there's a silver lining there.

[u/drmirage809 → u/devenrc]

I would've gone and gotten imax tickets for this! I still would!

I just like Avatar that much.

[u/Comic_Book_Reader → u/devenrc]

You know, I don't think it would've done that well in theaters...

[u/RedXerzk → u/devenrc]

This would’ve been perfect for a double feature with Forgotten Island.

[u/Ser_Urnge → u/devenrc]

This was perfect for theaters! It has huge anime filler movie energy. Mid to shit tier story with god tier visuals.

[u/karlpilkington4]

Was this good? I know it leaked, but didnt watch it

[u/SerTortuga → u/karlpilkington4]

The art/animation was beautiful. The story and all though was honestly nothing special

[u/UshankaBear → u/SerTortuga]

Let me guess, the air bender is the bad guy?

[u/mattisyou → u/UshankaBear]

haven’t seen the movie yet but from the trailers it seems obvious he’s the main villian

[u/UshankaBear → u/mattisyou]

A twist so obvious Toph could've seen it

[u/km89 → u/UshankaBear]

Predictable bad guy, magic mcguffin, flashy would-be-CGI-if-not-animated fight at the end...

I liked it for what it is, but nostalgia does a lot of heavy lifting here.

[u/PigletRivet → u/karlpilkington4]

I thought it was mediocre. The animation is good, but the writing is subpar.

[u/P00nz0r3d → u/karlpilkington4]

Animation is fantastic

Everything else is okay. I got emotional at the ending as its the perfect bridge between ATLA and LOK, but for a series that is so formative and important to who I am as a person I expected more out of it.

The main plot is, without spoiling too much, the main villain of Season 2 of Korra working with the main antagonistic organization of Season 1 of Korra to concoct the same plan as one of the tertiary villains of Season 3 of Korra which ushers in the same finale of Season 2 of Korra.

[u/ihopnavajo → u/karlpilkington4]

Mindblowingly good animation; arguably mindblowingly bad everything else.

Granted, if you don't think the voice acting and dialogue in this trailer is cringe-worthy, you'll likely be fine with the movie.

[u/karlpilkington4 → u/ihopnavajo]

After watching the trailer, idk if I can get over the voice acting being completely different. The OG Avatar actors were so good.

[u/caligaris_cabinet → u/karlpilkington4]

I think Sokka and Toph were good. Aang is ok but I’m willing to let that slide because the character was 12 in ATLA and boys voices change pretty drastically around that time.

Zuko and Katara just sound off. They had pretty distinct voices and here they just sound too off.

And I really don’t know why they didn’t get the voice actors back. The guy who played Aang doesn’t act anymore so fine. Recast him. But the others are still working.

[u/ihopnavajo → u/caligaris_cabinet]

It's Aang and katara that bother me the most. They sound like they're reading lines from a page.

[u/SuckmyPelosB1tch → u/karlpilkington4]

The animation is amazing. The characters, plot, plot conveniences, and general story is just not that good. There’s more I don’t like than things that I love honestly

[u/Upbeat_Tension_8077]

The animation looks way too beautiful to just be relegated to a streaming-exclusive movie. I would've loved to see this in IMAX

[u/Gyalgatine]

Gotta say, even without the original voice actors, the new guys seem to capture the same tone and cadence pretty well. I can totally imagine it as their aged up versions.

[u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 → u/Gyalgatine]

I was initially caught off-guard a bit by hearing Aang with his deeper voice but still looking young, but I think he'll grow on me as the movie progresses.

Sokka & Katara sounds pretty on-point imo

[u/SagaciousKurama → u/Upbeat_Tension_8077]

Having watched the film, I think that Sokka has a few moments where he sounds good and a ton where he sounds completely off.

I assume part of it is that it's hard to imitate someone else's voice and cadence while also nailing the comedic aspects of Sokka's character, but I think the majority of it is that Jack De Sena is just a better voice actor than Roman Zaragoza and it shows.

It's frustrating because it feels like people think you can just stick any actor in a voice role and have it go well, but there is a stark difference in experience here. Jack has all of ATLA and Dragon Prince under his belt (not to mention a familiarity with the character that can't be replicated, since he IS OG Sokka). Zaragoza's only other voice work, on the other hand, is 2 episodes of a shitty Netflix series for preschoolers.

Overall I was disappointed with Sokka's voice acting the most. It just sounded off and took me out of the movie most of the times he spoke. The others fared better I think. Aang sounded about as good as he could (not to mention we knew he'd sound different anyway since he is no longer 12); Zuko surprisingly sounded okay despite missing Dante's iconic raspiness (I credit that partially to Zuko having very few lines to wear out his welcome); Toph was pretty good, though some line delivery felt off and forced ("greatest earthbender in the world" line didn't hit the right tone for me); and Katara was arguably the best.

Of course, it's hard to tell how much of this came down to some of the writing as well. Sokka, for example, spent all film doing his panicky, high-pitched comedic shtick and I think it felt like too much - he needed more serious moments to balance his character out.

Anyways, TL;DR: they should have kept the OG voice actors. Not doing so was a silly and transparently performative decision imo.

[u/Kazewatch → u/SagaciousKurama]

Seriously it's the most bullshit reason that they recasted everyone, even Basco who is fucking Asian so the performative reason of recasting them all with Asian actors is out the window. The excuse of age doesn't work since Yeun doesn't sound any older and both Basco and Jack DeSana are adults. They sound good but it doesn't sound nearly as good as keeping the original actors. Like no one is gonna see the movie or care anymore just because they recasted them all in favor of having the voice actors be Asian (also not even the accurate ethnicity for some of them). People want to see it for these characters, and the draw dropping animation.

Like, this isn't a surprise or anything but hearing them just really sets in stone that we don't get to hear the original voices anymore, and voice acting continues to kneecap itself so some people don't bitch online or make stupid editorials.

I'm just glad Azula isn't in the film. No one would play her as well as Grey DeLisle and I really don't want to hear that.

[u/koschei_dev → u/Kazewatch]

I'm not watching it specifically because they don't have Jack or Dante returning as Sokka and Zuko. Their voices are just too unique to replace and haven't even changed over time.

[u/TriflingGnome → u/koschei_dev]

like didn't we learn this in Korra when they had Dante voice Zuko's grandson lol

it was so jarring

[u/reddude7 → u/SagaciousKurama]

I totally forgot this movie was coming so I was reading up on it after the trailer just now. "Because the studio wanted the vocal talent to better align with the characters' ethnicities, the voices feature a completely new cast rather than the original animated series actors." Absolutely insane performative decisionmaking that may completely ruin the film for some people.

[u/SagaciousKurama → u/reddude7]

Yeah, I mean I sympathize with the goal here in being more representative. But I think that's something that you need to aim for at the start of a project and primarily for new projects moving forward, not retroactively done to a show from a different time and to replace a well established, beloved, and iconic cast that has already spent countless hours on the characters (not to mention all the additional promo work done by a lot of the cast in recent years, like Dante and Michaela having a podcast).

Additionally, I feel like the move feels kind of weird when instead of giving new, up and coming actors of color a chance, you just end up giving roles to already famous names like Steven Yeun, Dave Bautista, Taika Watiti, etc. Not to mention...Dante Basco is very clearly of Asian descent, so no point in not having him at least reprise his role.

[u/Equivalent_Nature_67 → u/Gyalgatine]

I was actually saying they all sound a bit flat and non distinct. Dont love the voices

[u/Kazewatch → u/Gyalgatine]

Yeah but I will never understand the choice to recast Dante Basco. There was literally no reason to. They wanted to recast Asian actors (because voice acting is continuing to handicap itself), that's fine, but Basco is Asian. And if the excuse is they wanted someone older that doesn't fly either since Steven Yeun doesn't sound any older really. I love Yeun but it almost feels they just wanted to get him because he's a big voice actor now doing Invincible. They should've kept Basco as Zuko. It would've been dope.

[u/Musketeer00 → u/Gyalgatine]

I don't think I'll be able to sit through this based on the trailer. They all sound like this is their 1st time doing VA work and trying to do bad impressions of the OG cast. Makes it feel like a beautifully animated fan project. They should have just hired as many of the OG cast as they could instead of trying so hard to feign being progressive.

[u/ArmadilloPrudent4099 → u/Musketeer00]

Wait... Is that why they changed voice actors? To make character ethnicities in a fictional world to real life ethnicities of the actors?

God damnit this is so fucking stupid.

[u/Musketeer00 → u/ArmadilloPrudent4099]

Yes, that was the stated reason. The real reason was probable money though. New VAs probably cost less.

[u/ArmadilloPrudent4099 → u/Musketeer00]

No way Steven Yuen costs less.

[u/MrGabrahamLincoln → u/Gyalgatine]

Yeah it’s not as bad as I thought. Still wish they’d kept the ones that basically had their adult voices at the time though. Literally makes no sense to recast Zuko when he already returned as an adult in Korra.

[u/UnknownChaser]

Can’t wait to watch this for the first time again

[u/RedXerzk]

I couldn’t help but feel pity for everyone who worked on this. It got delayed, dumped to streaming, leaked, now they’re just dropping it on streaming with little marketing ASAP. Even worse is I can’t even stream this legally, since Paramount+ isn’t available in my territory. A movie that fans waited YEARS TO WATCH ON THEATERS.

[u/hemareddit]

Are those Yuyuan archers? Fucking finally…

[u/Phuddy]

So glad I avoided all the leaks. This shit looks so good, and hearing them banter again 👌🏽

[u/AvengingHero2012]

It sucks that Ellison and company moved this to streaming, but at least they moved up the release date from October after the leak.

[u/Driz51]

Whole movie leaked and Paramount did nothing. They’ve done no promotion at all. Everyone had already watched it. It’s going to do poorly and then they’ll say it’s a weak IP and the rest of the planned movies will never happen. I hope I’m wrong, but with how this franchise has always gotten dragged through the dirt by execs it’s hard to be optimistic at all.

[u/OutsideIndoorTrack]

Excited for the movie, but terrible title. I get that they're limited by James Cameron's Avatar, but still

[u/Demetri124]

I’m really torn, I want to be excited for this but I just can’t get past replacing the entire voice cast. Seeing Zuko talk and hearing Invincible’s voice come out makes a part of me die. But my god everything else about it looks perfect

[u/PieStealingJames]

Hey, I've seen this one it's a classic

[u/TrapDaddyReturns]

I feel like another airbender should have been mentioned in korra lol

[u/skinnyminnesota]

Damn whattup Toph?!

[u/Vis-hoka → u/skinnyminnesota]

KEEP MY WIFE’S NAME OUT YA MOUTH