Atla Live Action - Tumblr Posts
THIS!!! This is everything I’ve thought about Zuko’s scar in the live action. I was also disappointed that they didn’t seem to put much actual effort into the scar, because it’s such a huge part of his character and arc.
literally pleased with almost all of the new atla trailer except as per usual, Zuko's scar, idk why studios are so scared to commit to the intensity of the thing, its supposed to be shocking and obvious and textured and the first thing you see... that's the point, Zuko is supposed to struggle with feeling like it defines and brands him before finally coming to the point in his journey where he defines it.
Hollywood/big studios are known to hesitate or straight up avoid properly and honestly and unapologetically showing people with disfigurements/disabilities/facial differences etc. with the realism they deserve. Which is a shame in general for representation and humanization but ESPECIALLY in this case as its minimization actively harms it's narrative purpose as well
I promise making the scar more intense (shrivel up the ear a bit, make it intrude in his hairline, make his eye in a permanent squint due to nerve damage, for god sake REMOVE THE EYEBROW IT WAS BURNED OFF) will not make Zuko "ugly", (the actor is incapable of looking ugly and also the implication that scars make people too unappealing? yikes) but will actually do the character and his journey justice, not to mention really show Ozai's brutality, another essential narrative tool. Especially when he's bald like hello??? It should be even more stark and intense when he doesn't have hair to distract from it and cover his ear!!!
When transitioning from 2D to live action, of course some visuals are up for interpretation but that usually involved ADDING detail because the constraints of having to stay on modeling frame to frame is gone, not minimizing, removing or airbrushing. Doing Zuko's scar right to me is absolutely essential and I'm disappointed they seem just as as scared to go there as I thought they might. It doesn't have to be gory, if you've ever seen burn victims in real life or in pictures or even cosplayers/artists who are skilled in realistic burn makeup you'd know its possible to balance realism with humanity. It's possible especially with their resources to avoid the "scary Halloween makeup" route while not holding back on the brutality of the original injury.
Budget is definitely not an issue, or "scaring the kids" considering this remake is likely aiming to go a lil darker in tone than the cartoon (which was already super dark with its target audience of nickelodeon 7 year olds so no excuses) Audiences SHOULD be unsettled and upset when they see him but not because he's hard/disturbing to look at but because we are human and do not want to imagine someone doing that to a child.
It's a deliberate choice out of the all too common fear/hesitation to allow someone who is destined to eventually become a protagonist and is meant to be sympathized with to be "too ugly" while this hesitation is very rarely applied to straight up villains (again we come back to media's historic villainization of facial deformity). It's a trend that's always ticked me off in fanart too. The boy's face was melted, for gods sake. Zuko was always portrayed as an attractive boy in the cartoon (fire nation girls fawn over him) even with the intensity of his scar which is something I've always admired! People exist with scars similar to Zuko's in real life, and should not only be permitted to be represented as good guys and/or as attractive when their scars are toned down to be "palatable"
Like I said there's more that I loved than didn't love about the trailer, that can be a whole essay on it's own but I needed to get this very specific vent off my chest because it missed the mark so hard and stands out like a sore thumb in comparison to all the other visuals that hit the nail on the head to me
I am so so so so so TIRED to see people fatshaming two perfectly healthy girls because they have round faces. It’s disgusting.
The actresses of Mai and Azula are on point for their roles. Hell, if they were chosen there must be a reason, it’s not like there’s no Asian actresses out there they could choose from.
People can’t accept that Azula can have a characterization beyond “crazy and sadist sicko”. She’s a perfectionist. She’s an asset to her father. She’s jealous of Zuko’s birthright and of how it might take what she has away. Those are things that OG Azula too had. The only difference is that we actually see it in season one and have a background on her, rather than writing it in a rant. And what has been added only makes her a more complex character, given the change in the family dynamic as well.
And Mai? The actress is talented, she delivers a good Mai, and does justice to the character. She’s 17 and at the beginning of her career, of course it won’t be perfect. She gets to grow. Thing is, you guys won’t let her, because a square jaw scares you so flipping bad that you feel the need to shame her for it.
Everyone is a body positivity advocate until a girl with a rounder face shape is cast as a character in a live action you are NOT forced to watch? Seriously?
I’ve seen so many people on the internet calling them all sort of names, fatshaming them, insulting their work without even focusing on the acting. And I’m like, what’s to fatshame there? Let me tell you: nothing.
If I have to put it through your thick head like this, so be it. Even though I hate talking about and comparing bodies.
This below is a picture of Azula’s actress.
She has the face card, she has the jawline, and she has a fit, enviable body. And you still have the audacity to “fat-shame” her?
These two pictures are in costume. Again, face card and an enviable body. She even has the expression for Azula. You see a girl with a rounder shape of face and will automatically go “no she’s too cute to be Azula!!” Dude. No. When she will actually deliver as the crazy girl we know, she will devour. She will, and you all will switch back because that’s what you are, slimy switchers.
And now, onto Mai’s actress, a very beautiful girl with talent and looks. She is literally so pretty, and you dare hate on her? You dare shame her for how she looks? From what I’ve heard she’s a minor, too, so this makes you 100000% more slimy and undeserving of any sympathy in my book.
This is her, this is the girl.
She’s literally so pretty. Maybe she hasn’t got the same facial structure of Mai, but she delivered all her lines she had in the little screen time and with the discutibile scenes she was given. She was good. But you see a square jaw, a rounder shape of face, and are immediately triggered.
And you can’t even use the stupid argument of “she’s fat”, because this is literally her.
A very normal, very healthy young woman. Not as skinny as OG Mai? So what? She’s still a fricking thin girl. Nowhere as “fat” as you haters make her to be.
I shouldn’t have to explain common sense and basic decency to grown adults, and yet here we are.
This is honestly so frustrating. In the year of 2024 you can’t possibly justify insulting girls like this, with no shame. It’s absolutely idiotic and shows very a big lack of brain cells. I see you, haters, behind your device, with your insecurities and shame for yourself, laughing at two girls who made it farther than you ever will. You can critique the acting once you’ve seen it in full potential. Until then, shut your tramp up. This is very small dick energy of you.
I don’t see why I should treat you with kindness when you are so eager to make this kind of jokes about pretty and in shape girls you are very obviously jealous of. Go touch some grass, incels.
let’s make this happen
The only thing I want out of the ATLA live action is an Ember Island Players episode with the original voice cast as the actors of the play
Update: This has now been officially announced by Netflix!
Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Zuko casting
Avatar News has your exclusive first look at the main cast of the live-action Netflix Original Series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Four fresh faces take center stage in four of the biggest roles in the world.
Filming begins in November 2021 in Vancouver and is set to last until May 2022.
Before I go any further, I want to acknowledge that this is monumentally huge news and for that reason I want to be completely transparent about the source. I’m willing to put my reputation behind this with 99.9% confidence, but it’s not official or confirmed by Netflix/anyone (yet).
Throughout the summer, crew positions have been filling up and casting calls have been taking place, corroborated and confirmed by multiple different avenues of legitimate industry sources. In the last few days, a lot of major gears have suddenly turned. Long story short, people are starting to follow each other on Instagram– actors, and confirmed crew members. After extensive research, I’m basically certain that four young actors who all started following each other, as well as following and being followed by various confirmed crew members, have been cast in the four main roles: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko. The timelines match up, as do the casting calls.
For the record, here is a list of exactly who is following who at the time of writing this, and I want to repeat that again the crew members are confirmed by actual sources, not follows. (I also want to note that the lead actor of Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, Jessie Mei Li, has publicly confirmed in interviews that the cast for that series was guessed before it was announced by the same method: Instagram follows.)
And now, without further ado…
Gordon Cormier—Aang
Fact file
Age 12
Filipino-Canadian
From Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Best known for Netflix’s Lost in Space and Paramount+’s The Stand
You can find more pictures (and a video doing martial arts!) of Gordon Cormier here.
Kiawentiio—Katara
Fact file
Age 14
Indigenous North American - Mohawk
From Akwesasne, Ontario, Canada
Best known for CBC and Netflix’s Anne with an E
In an April 2021 interview, she said: “It would be a dream if I could work on Avatar: The Last Airbender. I’m dying to be Katara.”
You can find more pictures of Kiawentiio here.
Ian Ousley—Sokka
Fact file
Age 19
Indigenous North American - Cherokee
Best known for Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why and Apple TV+’s Physical
As mentioned above, there’s no publicly available background information for this young actor. The casting call for both Katara and Sokka called for Native American/Indigenous North American. He was cast to be the biological brother of Kiawentiio Tarbell’s character, and she’s indigenous Mohawk.
You can find more pictures of Ian Ousley here.
Dallas Liu—Zuko
Fact file
Age 19
Chinese-Indonesian-American
From Los Angeles, California, USA
Best known for Hulu’s PEN15 and Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (upcoming)
You can find more pictures of Dallas Liu here.
My deepest congratulations to these four young stars! Let’s welcome them with respect, and let’s be thoughtful about their privacy and mental health. Not just today, but for all the years ahead as they go on their epic quest to defeat the Fire Nation and bring balance to the world. :)
Zuko being an nerd about all the Avatars honestly isn't surprising to me.
NOOO BECAUSE WHY DID HAKODA SPEAK ABOUT SOKKA LIKE THAT?
I had a fever dream that Zuko was a girl and his name was Zelena
I’m scared
Ok so I was listening to Genie in a bottle when I got this mini idea:
What if instead of sending Zuko off to find the Avatar, Ozai sends Zuko to a different banishment…being stuck in a genie lamp for 100 years. 100 years pass when Zuko is released from the lamp by possibly Aang and his friends. Instead of being granted 3 wishes, they’re allowed 10 wishes. You can wish for whatever you want, however, you can’t wish people back from the dead or wish for any kind of power (like bending)
After discovering Zuko, he realizes he’s been in the lamp for 100 years but for him, it felt like 100 seconds. They fill him in that the war is still happening and they need to stop the Fire Nation. Zuko is hesitant but in the end agrees because he feels like it’s his fathers fault for being thrown into the lamp (he does struggle with blaming himself for everything still)
Idk my storyline yet, but I was thinking Aang gets tempted into wishing that he could master all the four elements because then thing could be easier for him but he knew if he did, it would end in dire consequences.
Lmk what you think!
Bruh I had this funny idea that what if Zuko got a lip piercing and he tried hiding it from Iroh but the minute he finds out he flips out.
I feel like once Zuko gets out of Ozai’s custody he just does his hair:
Ngl I see Zuko as a cat person, but I also have aus where he has a Pomeranian named Sushi and a corgi named Toast
You know, I always see Possessive Zuko x reader but can I see Zuko x possessive reader? (I hope this doesn’t sound weird it’s just an idea that popped in my head)
best lady ever
Sketchy sketch
fire lord? more like SLAY LORD (sorry)
i don`t know if i gonna finish this soooo
also silly russian au sketch of aang
they would get along