Classic Animation Goes Live-Action In Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Trailer

"Avatar: The Last Airbender" is one of the most beloved American animated shows ever. This is a show that voice actor Mark Hamill once considered "too smart" to be a success, yet it was not only successful enough to get three seasons, it also got a popular sequel series. "The Last Airbender" gave young audiences an anime-inspired show that told a serialized story while still having standout standalone episodes. It introduced kids to a vast and rich fantasy world with lore and history on the level of big franchises like "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings." 

It also managed to end on its own terms, with a masterpiece of a series finale that paid off details planned from the very beginning, without giving fans a clean and overly explained ending. The sequel, "The Legend of Korra," doubled down on the complex themes of "The Last Airbender" and used complex and layered villains to explore political themes without talking down to its young audience.

Now, over a decade after M. Night Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender" live-action movie, Netflix is about to come out with its own live-action remake of the beloved cartoon, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (yes, still titled exactly the same as the original). Showrunner Albert Kim ("Sleepy Hollow") helms the 8-episode first season, set to adapt the first season of the original. The episodes will be directed by the likes of Michael Goi ("Swamp Thing," "Riverdale"), and Roseanne Liang ("Shadow in the Cloud").

Jeremy Zuckerman, the composer of the original show's iconic score, was supposed to return for the remake, but he later departed the project after the original creators left. Japanese-American composer Takeshi Furukawa composed the new score.