After years of speculation, Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) debuted in February 2024, almost 20 years after the original animated series aired on Nickelodeon. The non-James-Cameron Avatar franchise takes place in a magical world, heavily influenced by Asian and Indigenous cultures, where certain people can control the elements.
Water-, earth-, fire-, and airbenders (and non-benders) used to live in harmony as four civilizations, until the Fire Nation began its quest for world domination. The Avatar, a spiritual being who can master all four elements, was meant to keep the world in balance, but he disappeared at the start of the war. Fast-forward 100 years, and Water Tribe teens Katara and Sokka discover the new Avatar, a child named Aang, who is the last living airbender (hence the show's title).
