Anthony Behar

Dave Bautista Cast as the Villain in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Animated Movie

Originally posted on Agents of Fandom | By Garrett Blaney | Last updated 4/17/24

In 2021, Nickelodeon and Paramount unveiled plans for Avatar Studios, a department exclusively dedicated to Avatar: The Last Airbender content. With that announcement came news of an animated continuation of the 2005 series.

June 2022 saw the announcement of two more animated movies in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe, rounding out a trilogy of ATLA content. This week at CinemaCon, Paramount unveiled a working title and a release date for the first of those animated projects, a movie centering around adult Aang, voiced by Eric Nam, a popular singer-actor and K-Pop star.

What Do We Know About ‘Aang: The Last Airbender’?

Avatar: The Last Airbender is still hot on everyone?s minds from Netflix?s latest live-action series. Image Credit: Ruben Ripalda/Agents of Fandom.

While not much is known about the next foray into the world of ATLA, the working title of the project is Aang: The Last Airbender, and the talented Dave Bautista is set to voice the villain opposite Aang. It is unknown whether his villain will be in a recurring or one-off role. Rounding out the cast are Román Zaragoza (Ghosts), Dionne Quan (The Fairly OddParents, Rugrats), and Jessica Matten (Dark Winds).

Longtime storyboarding veteran of the original series Lauren Montgomery will co-direct the film alongside William Mata. The pair is working alongside series creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino who will serve as executive producers.

The film is slated for an October 10, 2025, release date, placing it firmly in the 20th anniversary of the original series, which ran from 2005-2008 on Nickelodeon. The franchise continued with The Legend of Korra from 2012-2014 as well as an ill-fated live-action adaptation from M. Night Shyamalan before the Netflix revival earlier this year.

While reception to the series was shaky, the adaptation was hailed positively overall and officially earned a Season 2 and 3 nod from Netflix. With the franchise fresh on the audience’s minds and the new trilogy in the hands of professionals, fans of the franchise should rest easy about the new project — tentatively.