Dave Bautista and Eric Nam have been announced as the lead voice cast for the upcoming 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' movie, currently in development at Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Studios. The film, tentatively titled 'Aang: The Last Airbender,' was revealed during Paramount's presentation at CinemaCon. Joining Bautista and Nam in the voice cast are Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten, and Roman Zaragoza. Plot details for the movie are being kept confidential, but it is known that Bautista will voice a villain character.
The new 'Avatar' animated film is scheduled for release on October 10, 2025, by Paramount. In June 2022, Paramount and Nickelodeon Studios announced the production of three standalone 'Avatar' animated films, with the 2025 film being the first to receive a release date. The movie is being directed by Lauren Montgomery, with original series creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko serving as executive producers alongside Eric Coleman. William Mata is co-directing the project.
The original 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' series aired from 2005 to 2008 on Nickelodeon, followed by 'The Legend of Korra' from 2012 to 2014. The shows revolve around the Avatar, a mystical being capable of mastering all four elements of nature: air, water, earth, and fire. The original series focused on Avatar Aang's journey to master the elements and defeat the malevolent Fire Nation with the help of his friends Katara, Sokka, and Toph. Earlier this year, Netflix released a live-action adaptation of the series.
During the same CinemaCon event, Paramount also unveiled the voice cast for Rihanna's upcoming animated 'Smurfs' movie. Rihanna will voice Smurfette and contribute original music to the film, alongside a star-studded cast including Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, JP Karliak, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, Xolo Maridueña, Kurt Russell, and John Goodman. The 'Smurfs' movie is set to premiere on February 15, 2025.
Additionally, Paramount announced that the original voice cast of 'SpongeBob SquarePants' will return for 'The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Sequarepants,' slated for a theatrical release on December 19, 2025. The cast includes Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants, Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs, Rodger Bumpass as Squidward, Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick, Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy, and Mr. Lawrence as Plankton.
