Superbowl spot for ‘The Last Airbender’

By Mark Pollard | Published February 5, 2010

We finally get our first substantial footage of M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming fantasy martial arts movie THE LAST AIRBENDER courtesy of UGO. The teaser spot will run during the upcoming Superbowl but has already premiered online. This follows the recent release of two character posters featuring Taekwondo-trained actor Noah Ringer as lead hero Aang and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE star Dev Patel as the evil Prince Zuko.


The film is based on Nickelodeon’s popular animated TV series AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It’s heavily influenced by Asian mythology and philosophy and concerns Aang, the last in a long line of Avatars who can bend air. He must rise to the challenge of stopping Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations.

I don’t know if fans of the series will ever be able to get over their anger regarding some of the racially inaccurate casting, or if Shyamalan will succeed where his last couple films have disappointed audiences, but so far the film is looking pretty good. If nothing else, it looks to be a visual feast.

The film is currently scheduled for release on July 2, 2010.

On a side note, for those who want to get acquainted with THE LAST AIRBENDER series, the first season is available to watch streaming online through Netflix. All three seasons can also be found on DVD or through other VOD portals including Amazon.

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  • I've just about given up on Shyamalan. I hope you're right but I need more than just a "visual feast." MAYBE I'll watch it on Neflix if and when I've run out of foreign films to watch.
  • SarahXin
    Cool to hear that they're streaming Avatar on Netflix, I didn't know that!

    I won't be seeing this movie, it bothers me that they populate the whole Water Tribe with Inuit extras but couldn't put forth the effort to find actors of color to play the Water Tribe leads, Katara and Sokka. :P

    It would have been sweet if they got Sifu Kisu to do it, like the other commenters said. Oh well, one more thing gone wrong. :P
  • syon
    1. As a huge fan of the original animated series, I doubt I'll ever forgive the whitewashing of the cast.
    2. Avatar was supposed to be an opportunity for children of color. It would have given them a chance to see actors who look like them star as heroes instead of villains, sidekicks or extras who are saved by white heroes.
    3. There is no such thing as being objective when it comes to racism. There's only the difference between people who understand that racism exists and people who have the privilege to ignore it.
  • Jay
    Amen!
  • bishan129
    a lot of racial complains in this movie... getting tired of it...
  • Emma
    Yeah, you know what I'm tired of? Whitewashed movies. I'm REALLY tired of those.
  • Name
    I just hope they dont f*ck up this movie, cause the cartoon is brilliant and has really nice martial arts fights and a great story!!
  • Sharkman
    Too bad they didn't hire on Sifu Kisu, the guy that did a lot of the Martial Arts consultation for the cartoon.

    They got the guy who did the fight scenes for Indiana Jones 4.
  • master
    looks good sure going to suck like the rest for example dragon ball eve and chun li suck i give the movie two thumbs down grade f
  • Nero
    I personally like to wait to see a film before I give it a grade there "Master".

    Thanks for the pre-review. Can I borrow your Time Machine to watch the film too?
  • Chase007
    Racial inaccuracies? I am not familiar with the show, so can someone please explain. All the negativity surrounding film seem to be about race...Is it that big of a deal?
  • Basically, the studio decided to resort to once again having white people play Asian people, and only threw in that token Indian kid from Slumdog to appease the fanbase.
  • Blaqueronin
    As a huge fan of Avatar:The Last Airbender I am not over the racial inaccuracies and will not support the film. Plus if Kisu is not involved like some are saying I am really out. Its going to suck big time.
  • SoWutIfMahSnSux
    i love ATLA the most out of any show i've ever watched. the effects in this spot look amazing. i'm over the casting now - i just want to see great performances. if they dont completely butcher the story or take too many liberties, i shant be too mad...
  • Emma
    Nice to see some of us can just 'get over' racism and ignore it, Must be nice to be so privlidged.
  • jave
    The series' attention to detail when it came to the different element bending styles is what really made it stand out for me. Sifu Kisu did an excellent job of matching real Chinese Kung Fu styles to the characteristics of each elemental nation and the personalities of each character. I saw what could have been some tai chi during the waterbending scene, but I didn't really get a feel for anything else.

    I'd have more faith in this movie's action if I knew he was somehow involved. Does anyone know who the action director on this movie is?
  • barry
    Without Sifu Kisu and people that know kung fu, I mean fight coordinators of Casino Royale and Bourne Ultimatum (looked them up on IMDB, Jeff Imada did choreography for Bourne) they do not impress me. I am afraid they will screw up the kung fu choreography and make it the Hollywood way (shaky cam?) And M.Night is stupid for not involving Sifu Kisu who created the styles for the show. His ego has become huge and his movies are just getting plain bad after Six Sense, M.Night the one trick pony!!
  • ZenShiite
    Sifu Kisu's definitely not involved. In fact, seems he had some kind of a falling out with the producers. He had some big plans for the featuring of CMA in this movie, including tutoring the actors for a good long while before even getting into shooting. That's what I've understood. I don't have much confidence in this production. All that this trailer has done for me is confirm that, yes, ILM does great special effects.
  • Fight coordinators are New Zealanders Ben Cooke and Mark (Markos) Rounthwaite. Rounthwaite has a background in Taekwondo and both men worked on CASINO ROYALE, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM and THE GREEN ZONE. I have not come across any suggestion that Kisu was involved in the production.
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