Original Avatar The Last Airbender To Land On Netflix This May 15

Fans of the beloved Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender, brace up for the big news!

All three seasons of the original animated show will be hitting Netflix US this May 15. There’s more. The streaming platform had also decided to produce a live-action adaptation of the series a while before it announced the return of the animated version.

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. All three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender are coming to Netflix in the US on May 15th. pic.twitter.com/RCKylFYknA

— NX (@NXOnNetflix) April 23, 2020

For years, die-hard fans have struggled to stream the adventures of Aang, the show’s namesake Avatar, since it was not available on any of the streaming platforms.

The show had aired on Nick from 2005 to 2008. If one was unwilling to pay an extra fee for the NickHits channel on Amazon Prime, then noisy torrent downloads with Aang’s blurred Air Bender tattoos were the only hope.

(For those unaware of the tattoo’s lore, the blue arrow is the mark of a skilled air bender, someone who can bend and control the element of air.)

Plot/Storyline

The story follows a 12-year-old rather irresponsible air bender, Aang, as he realizes his destiny to save the world from Fire Nation’s domination.

The series had introduced themes usually absent from children’s media at the time of its release — like the sanctity of life, fatalism, and totalitarianism.

During its 3-year-run, the show won numerous awards, including a Peabody Award and a Primetime Emmy.

Meanwhile, a 2010 live-action film directed by M. Night Shyamalan was unceremoniously rejected by the fans for its shoddy treatment of the classic.

Nickelodeon had already aired its animated sequel, The Legend of Korra, that ran for four seasons from 2012 to 2014. The sequel also gathered critical applauds for introducing the first-ever LGBTQ characters in its plot.

Avatar was briefly available on Netflix in 2019 but was later removed. And it was in Netflix queues in multiple continents except the US for the past few months.

ARE YOU SERIOUS THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE

— McKenzie Atwood (@MKatwood) April 23, 2020

Its been on the uk version for like three months now

— Sunny loves you ☀️ (@AtmosphereSunny) April 23, 2020

Late last week, Netflix announced that it would be the exclusive home for all things Avatar. The announcement comes several months after Nickelodeon signed a multi-year contract with the streamer, of which the live-action adaptation is a part.

For the adaptation, Netflix has reportedly welcomed original series’ creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko as executive producers.

The deal is a part of the streaming giant’s plan to emerge as a leader in the market of kids entertainment, currently dominated by Disney+ and YouTube.