Off-Topic Post: My ATLA Live-Action Wishlist
I have exactly 0% faith in the Netflix adaption so here’s a list of what my dream live-action adaption would entail. None of these changes would really change the fundamental plot or qualities of Avatar, I think.
1) Age up all the kid characters by 2-3 years.
This one is mostly for practical reasons. I want the teen characters in the show to be played by young adults (18-22), since they’ll generally be more skilled at their craft and not subject to child labor laws. Pretty much the only characters that I feel need to be played by child actors would Aang and Toph, since their status as children are both crucial to their backstories. Even then, I’d still like them to be played by actors in their mid-teens.
Plus the older the characters are, the less awkward the fighting scenes will be…
2) Have Aang be frozen for 70 years instead of 100. Have Sozin’s Comet arrive 5 years from then.
Sozin’s Comet was inspired by Haley’s Comet, a real-life comet that returns to earth every 75 years. Why not take the inspiration a step further? This would serve quite a few practical purposes:
- Bumi could conceivably be portrayed by an actor. There are actually jacked 80-somethings in the world and aging Bumi down to 82 years young would open the role up to fit senior citizens aged 60-80. A buff and agile 112-year-old might be too hard to accept for a live-action Avatar. And aging down Gran-Gran, Pakku, and Iroh wouldn’t affect the plot either.
- Having Aang master three elements in five years would still feel like a tight schedule, but also take into account that Aang’s actor would be aging significantly over the course of filming the show.
- Aang’s emotional growth into the role of Avatar would parallel his physical growth into adulthood.
Plus, 70 years is still a long time to be gone. I think lines like “No one’s seen an airbender in… 70 years!” and “You must put an end to this 70-year war” would still carry a lot of weight.
3) Have Katara start the series as a self-taught, mid-level waterbender who needs a teacher to help her become a master.
I know Katara is a very focused and hardworking character, but her becoming a waterbending master over the course of 4 months kind of undercuts the art of bending. Even prodigies like Toph and Azula still worked at it for many, many years before becoming masters.
By having Katara be a mediocre bender at the start of the show, we still get an idea of how passionate she must be to have gotten that far on her own, while also not undermining the magic system. Plus, she’d be able to participate in more fights in Book 1.
4) Weave Mai into Zuko’s past more.
I feel like a big reason many fans don’t “buy” the Maiko relationship is that it really wasn’t set up very well. It doesn’t even need to be a major focus point, just have Zuko make a few references to Mai when he talks about wanting to return home or have him look fondly at a knife she gave him before he was banished. Heck, even just having a flashback of her looking horrified as Zuko gets burned by Ozai would be enough to sell many people on the strength of her feelings for him.
5) Weave Guru Pathik into the series finale.
Have Pathik visit Aang on the Lion-Turtle’s back and give him some sagely advice. Expand energybending’s mythos more and have Pathik explain what Aang needs to do to unblock the Avatar state. The lion-turtle can still give Aang the energybending ability, I just think the writers could do so much more to worldbuild these details.
Plus Guru Pathik is just cool.
6) Develop the Water Tribe and Air Nomads more.
Hire experts on Indigenous, Arctic, Tibetan, and Buddhist cultures to help expand the Water and Air nations. Draw from the show’s real-life inspirations to incorporate more distinct tattoos, clothing, gestures, rituals, mythos, and relationship dynamics into the series. Doing so would only enrich the world building and make the universe feel all the more real.
7) Costumes and props from the source.
Have the costuming and props departments buy fabrics, materials, clothing items, set props, and weapons straight from their cultures of origin whenever possible. First and foremost, drawing from its real-life inspirations will always improve the fantasy world’s verisimilitude. Secondly, traditional craftsmen and artisans are a dying breed. Buying from the peoples and cultures that inspired Avatar helps to preserve these traditional crafts and skills into the modern age.
Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^
