I agree that I hope the movie isn’t all white. Not that it couldn’t be done that way, but I see no reason why all of the different nations should be represented by the same kinds of faces. As it is, it’s the one aspect of anime (or faux-anime, in Avatar’s case) that’s always bothered me. Why are all the faces in this Asian art form caucasian-looking?

Anyhow, it’ll be an interesting challenge… Taking a show with a pretty large and devoted following, and turning into a live-action spectacle that doesn’t cause viewers to want to constantly compare it to that beloved show.

Meanwhile, it’s the DVDs of Books 1 & 2 — or the reruns of the same six times a day over on Nicktoons — until July. SIGH…

Books 1 and 2 were indeed 20 eps each. Nick will say that Book 3 is 20 eps also, but that’s because they’re counting the 2-part “Day of Black Sun” as 1 “episode” that’s 2 half-hours. It’s semantic silliness, though — from the perspective of prior seasons, it’s a 21-episode season.

Nobody — from Mike & Bryan to the Nick PR folks — knows why Nick programming is waiting until July.

As for the live-action movie, I’m mostly hoping that it’s not all cast with a bunch of white kids by the time it gets to the screen. I think Night and M&B know what the challenges are in bringing something like Avatar to live-action.

10 episodes? Sweet. That makes sense, since (I believe) Books 1 & 2 were also 20 episodes long? At the very least, I remember Nick heavily promoting “10 weeks of new episodes” when season/Book 3 began, so it stands to reason we’d have 10 more. What I don’t understand is why Nick is choosing to hold off until mid-July to show those last 10 episodes? Very odd.

I’ll have to read the interview and see what they say about the movie. If it’s a rehash of the show, it could prove disappointing. Fans will inevitably compare all of the characters to what they’ve seen/heard on the show. Can anyone pull off the part of Aang, or Uncle Iroh, in live action? We’ll see. I just hope Appa’s believable!

There are actually 10 episodes left to air. Book 3 has an extra episode in it, since the midpoint “Day of Black Sun” had 2 parts. Four unaired episodes will be on the next DVD on May 6 (the first ep is part 2 of “Day of Black Sun”), and the last 6 will be on the last DVD. All 10 episodes will begin airing on Nick on July 14, 2008.

I also did an interview with Mike & Bryan right after the panel, which is up at http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=23222. At the very end, they talk about the live-action movie and working with Shyamalan (which is making a lot of fans a lot happier), but also have some news about what’s next. They go a bit further than saying they have more Avatar stories to tell. It’s not 100% confirmed, but the gears are moving.

Super-nice guys, too. I wish I had more than 10 minutes to talk with them. Also, the book 3 conclusion trailer is now being hosted on AvatarSpirit.net.

And yes, the creators did say they had more stories they wanted to tell. Potential good news, depending on what comes of it.

I never saw the original claims that this was always supposed to be a trilogy, but I’ll take their word for it. Still seems odd though. Four elements, four “books.” Oh well… If it all ends well and these last eight shows don’t seem rushed, I guess that’ll be fine. Hopefully, they’ll really up the action for this final run and it’ll be worth the (long) wait.

Towards your comments on the movies, I think Night can do it right, if you pardon the rhyme there. He seems devoted to the project, and the creators are working close with him to ensure it does not suck. It will take a lot to condense the story into three movies, but I am keeping my hopes up for now. And we have two more years of production until the jury is out officially on the live-action effort.

No word on whether Aang dies.

But wait… How many episodes are left? Eh, I’ll go look at the Toon Zone site and see what they say. Hopefully the spoilers aren’t too bad (i.e. – AANG DIES!).

Sure, Aang knows airbending already. We know that. But I thought, perhaps, that a final “Air” season would reveal the existence of other Air Nation residents that had been held prisoner, or were perhaps in hiding, their entire lives. Maybe even more airbenders? Or, a 4th season might not have had anything to do with airbending at all. It could just be the culmination of all things, with Aang finding the perfect balance in himself to master all four elements. It’s like Uncle Iroh tried explaining to Zuko once. None of the four nations can live without the other. It throws everything out of balance.

So it seems odd to me, at least, to not have a fourth season titled “Air.” Perhaps, if there had been a 4th season, the sensible thing would’ve been calling the FIRST season “Air” and then have Aang master each of the other elements in subsequent seasons, ending with “Fire.”

Presumably, Aang will master fire bending and defeat the Fire Lord (voiced by Mark Hammill!)in the series finale. But he’ll have to do it quick. He certainly seemed unsure of himself and his abilities when we last saw him. He and his friends failed (Disappointing, given all the build-up to the solar eclipse their plans hinged on) and are once again on the run.

I just hope that little baldy survives! I think he will, but I could imagine it ending with his sacrifice, and a new Avatar is born at the very end. I’m just sorry to see it all end so soon. I’d take a 4th season over a Shyamalan movie ANY DAY.

And if Nick thinks that the fans will stop downloading the shows if they release them first on DVD, they are kidding themselves. if it is readily available online, no matter when they release the shows legally.