Commenting Rules: Keep the conversation civil and on topic. If your comment does not add to the conversation, it will be removed. Debate intelligently. Insulting the author, /Film, or other commenters will result in comment removal and possible ban. If you want to point out a typo, correction, suggestion or criticism for /Film, please email us instead. Please use your name or nickname and not your business name (ie Discount Car Parts) as we might confuse and mark it as spam. If you would like to have your own Avatar show up with your comment, sign-up for a free Disqus account. Any Links will go into moderation before being approved. Anything we deem as spam will not be approved.

First Look: M Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender

Posted on Thursday, May 21st, 2009 by Peter Sciretta

the last airbender

Paramount Pictures has released the first photos from M Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender in Friday’s issue of USA Today. Above is the first photo of Aang (Noah Ringer), the “Last Airbender,” a 12-year-old regional karate star was who discovered in a Texas open casting call. After the jump we’ve also included a tv to film comparison of Dev Patel as Prince Zuko.

The Last Airbender

Based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series, the live-action feature film is set in a world where human civilization is divided into four nations: Water, Earth, Air and Fire.

The Fire Nation is waging a ruthless, oppressive war against the other three nations. The film’s hero, the reluctant young Aang, is the “Last Airbender” — the Avatar who, according to prophecy, has the ability to manipulate all of the elements and bring all the nations together. Aided by a protective teenage Waterbender named Katara (Nicola Peltz) and her bull-headed brother Sokka, Aang proceeds on a perilous journey to restore balance to their war-torn world.

airbender dev patel

The article has a few interesting tidbits about the film’s two main stars:

  • Ringer’s nickname at school was “Avatar” because many people thought he looked like the character that he now plays in the movie.
  • Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel, who plays Prince Zuko, prince of the Fire Nation; earned his black belt in tae kwon do before getting into acting, and started watching the animated television series while filming Slumdog.

The teaser trailer will be attached to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The Last Airbender is set to hit theaters on July 2nd 2010.

Discuss: What do you think of the first photos?

Comments 

Related Posts

Tags

Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Images, Paramount Pictures, TV To Film Adaptation, , , ,

  • Kelt
    what the hell is wrong with the kids hand
  • robert
    nothing, you're just looking at it wrong
  • It looks pretty good. I hope this is M. Night's comeback film
  • A.J
    he has it in a fist with the thumb facing you.

    no no no no no! Zuko is supposed to have a shaved head with just a ponytail in the first season/film! It's a big moment in the show when he cuts it off and then grows his full head of hair.
  • Why So Serial
    How do you know that the picture isn't from the last minutes of the movie? One of the few downfalls with sites like this is precisely this... baseless reactions.
  • Dates
    i just want to say that i read that there will be 3 movies. one for water, earth, and fire. And since zuko doesnt grow his hair until the 2nd chapter (i'm pretty sure) it would be wrong for him to have his hair like that in the first movie.
  • Trees are Red
    I totally agree with what you said. And I am not being racist or any thing but Zuko should not be played by an Indian kid. Everyone in the show was white.
  • kongming
    Everyone was white. You heard it here, folks. A world where everybody wore Asian/Native American costumes, consumed Asian food, wrote in Chinese characters, and had black or dark brown hair... was full of white people. Yes, makes perfect sense.
  • Onewithsense
    Well you do sound racist....what part of the world do you live in...everyone was not white...the were of color....everyone is basically of color...except for Caucasian people...sorry...I know your in denial...
  • Xelioth
    he can still have the pony tail, the actor probably just doesn't look right with a bald head.

    ZUKO barely looks right with the bald head =P
  • Not a fan of M. Night, but I hope he don't butcher this film like I think he will.
  • Bob C
    What a twist!
  • Awww. I was hoping the arrow on his head would remain big and blue. Because think about how hilarious it would be.
  • It is still there if you look hard. Its just that start point plus they have the suits bland so they can change the color pallid in the after effects.
  • Well, it doesn't look terrible so that's one thing. Hopefully that's a pic of Aang pre-Air monk attack. Looks like it. I want them to keep the avatar tats. Not sure why they wouldn't but we won't know until Tf2.
  • The one thing nobody has addressed is his costume... It looks like one of those cheap Halloween costumes you buy in the clear plastic bag. It just doesn't fit him properly.
  • You're not the first person to comment the same.

    Looks like they ran out of money and decided to go with it.

    Too many twinkies???
  • Palmer
    That tattoo on Aang on this picture doesn't look detailed enough that it makes him look like a young Bullseye.
  • an all white cast with only one non-white actor (Dev Patel) based on an Asian-influenced cartoon... NICE!
  • We are aware. This is about two screenshots, not the much covered casting.
    Topical, be it.
  • Yeah we learned that how many months back?
    Time to move on and complain about something else in this movie. Like how cheesy it looks IMO.
  • U DONT NEED TO KNOW
    It doesnt look cheasy at all it actually looks like it will be pretty good!
  • Vinyard
    She gets a negative two points because she points out something pertinent.
    Wow, you guys sure are clever. And the last time I heard anything about Airbender was months ago and it was in regards to its handling of race.
    If anything, it's just as important now to open up a dialogue as to why there aren't more Asian actors in it - without including cynicism.
    But if you wanna bury your head in the sand, go ahead.
    Way to fucking think for yourselves.
  • freemachine
    It's not like the characters in the cartoon look white to begin with...
  • dan
    so what about other anime characters ffrom other shows are they all f-ing white too is the characters in Bleach white too cause they are asian.

    the truth is film studio executive have a freaking Asian fetish take Asian culture and dont want to case an Asian as the lead.
  • Although the illustrators were based in Korea, rather than Japan, they did study Japanese Anime styles.

    Here's a good explanation on why cartoon look caucasian to White caucasian people.
    White caucasians tend to be drawn differently by illustrators. More prominent jawline and bigger noses.

    What you see as Caucasian faces are closer to SE_ Asian features like Japanese and Korean.

    [youtube 6FsaReX4ej0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FsaReX4ej0 youtube]
  • kongming
    Is this sarcasm? I hope you're not dumb enough to actually believe the characters look white.

    Look, just because people don't look like slanty-eyed bucktoothed coolie-hat-wearing stereotypes doesn't mean they're white, dude. Quit projecting your race onto everything you see.
  • haha
    haha shut the hell up, youre dumb.
  • kongming
    Well aren't you clever.
  • getoverit
    I'll stick with the cartoon.
  • Always thought this show was waaay too close to Naruto to take any interest in it.
  • Take interest in it, then.
  • When Naruto (manga) does it a lot better? No thanks. I've seen a few episodes, the premise is too similar.
  • Name
    Dude the two shows are compleatly different. One the story in Avatar is diffrents and two Narato's so much better. :)
  • The_Kid
    these pigs are okay but he could have been completely faithful and did the big blue arrow, so it would glow when he goes into avatar mode
  • Solid
    At least this show has an ending. I used to love naruto back in college, but it just went on and on and on like pokemon. Speaking of that garbage, when is that getting the live action treatment? At least that was a true phenomenon of some kind... Oh hell I'd watch it, I'm feeling suicidal.
  • I wanted to know so badly how would Aang look, and I am impressed to got a kid so young, part of the reason I understood why the Dragonball movie had teenager actors was because it would otherwise be very hard for kids to play the characters, but Shyamalan getting a young kid like this is a good beggining...now all we need is a trailer to see if he is as likeable and if Dev Patel can deliver as Zuko....I have my doubts on him.
  • I wonder who M. Night will play in this movie. And I wonder what the twist will be, cause you know there's gonna be one.
  • bob
    m night will be...............the cabbage man!
  • EmilyFalcon
    that would be amazing. XD
  • Definitely, he will ruin the Cabbage man character.
  • Before all the Avatar fanboys swamp this page with hate I'd just like to say that I'm pretty impressed with the costumes, they don't look cheap (unlike those in Dragonball Evolution). I really hope M Night delivers with this film, I used to be such a big fan of his work (and still am of his earlier films).
  • kongming
    Only fanboys care about race! What? Non-white people? Who are they?
  • They both look decent enough.
    Though personally I would have imagined aang to look a little older
  • This is my thoughts as well. This is a case where sometimes you do need someone that looks older to play a younger role.
  • Bill
    ?
    ? ?
  • starscream9289
    Newfags can't triforce :p
  • dagreenman18
    Oh god this will not end well.
  • Green Bird
    ^^^^^^That's absolutely right. This is gonna end in FAIL. I've already made up my mind to boycott.

    And BTW, I'm a girl. So don't even think about calling me a fanboy.

    And I hate Aang's tattoo here. It looks like a bullet, and NOTHING like the arrow it's supposed to be. Go ahead and make the arrow realistic, but don't change it to a fucking bullet.
  • i don't know if you should be so absolute with your views like that. Image what Heath Ledger went through with the nerdy crap prior to the production of Dark Knight. And his performance is..pretty much legendary.

    At least wait until the trailer and then say you're not gonna see it.
blog comments powered by Disqus

gorilla nation

/Film

Copyright © 2010 /Film. Web design by Pro Blog Design. Logo Concept by: Illumination Ink

All names, trademarks and images are copyright their respective owners.