Imagine you’re a Netflix executive in the summer of 2020. You’ve acquired the rights to one of the most popular TV shows of the 21st century — one that’s full of rich world-building and ripe for development. The franchise’s parent company is doing nothing with it, and if your live-action adaptation goes well, Netflix could become the new home of “Avatar” for the foreseeable future.
But then the showrunners leave, taking a lot of your credibility with them, and Nickelodeon announces extensive plans to expand the series under their watchful eyes. Your hopes for the future are dashed, but you’ve still spent a lot of money trying to get this adaptation off the ground. It wouldn’t have made business sense for Netflix to abandon the project entirely. But at the same time, it’s hard to imagine it having much staying power.
To be clear, there are lots of promising things about the remake. The focus on racial equity and cultural authenticity both in front of and behind the camera is a great start, especially since the original series featured a predominantly white voice cast. And the upcoming season will likely get a lot of views simply based on name recognition. But then what? Even if it’s great and leaves viewers wanting more, Netflix can’t provide it. By the time a Season 2 could come out, Avatar Studios’ first film will likely have already hit theaters. That movie is set to follow the original series’ characters as adults, and it’s only the beginning of what the studio has planned.
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