With first impressions and photos from Jainor Garcia/ @FunkoPapi_PH
Just a few months after the success of One Piece live action on the streaming platform, Netflix is gearing up to bring back the beloved world of Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) in a whole new light with its upcoming live-action series set to debut tomorrow (February 22). To make the release date even more special for Filipino fans, renowned stars Gordon Cormier (playing Aang) and Dallas Liu (Prince Zuko) graced the Philippines to meet fans and give away exclusive merch – signed posters included!
This latest adaptation on Netflix brings to life the characters and storyline from the 2005 Nickelodeon series which I’m sure majority of millennials would have watched in their teenage years. Set in a world where nations can control the elements of water, earth, fire, and air, the series follows Aang, the last airbender and the next Avatar, as he embarks on a journey to master all four elements and restore balance to a world threatened by the Fire Nation and its leader, Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim). Joining Aang on his quest are his friends and fellow adventurers — siblings Sokka (Ian Ousley) and Katara (Kiawentiio) of the Water Tribe. Together, they must navigate through challenges and adversaries, including the relentless pursuit of the Fire Nation and its determined Crown Prince Zuko.
Manila Millennial’s correspondent, Jainor Garcia of Funko Papi PH, had the exclusive opportunity to attend the press conference and advance screening of the first episode, so we’re here to tell you all about it!
FUN FACTS ABOUT GORDON AND DALLAS
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1. Dallas is NOTHING like the character he plays
Even in person, Dallas looks nothing like hot-headed Prince Zuko that he plays in ATLA. He’s like the nicest (and most honest) guy in the room, even amused at how he found the weather in the Philippines to be super humid, akin to the Fire Nation! His personality didn’t become a hindrance to how he plays the role, though.
When asked about how he managed to embody Price Zuko in such complexity and depth, Dallas answers: “I think you really have to tap into the negativity of Prince Zuko and what he’s going through. You know, unfortunately, Zuko has gone through a significant amount of mainstream drama, and that’s something that’s very hard to relate to. So there’s different points in my life that I had to pull from specifically.”
“I think at some point it was hard to really differentiate the line where Dallas and Zuko stood because I was in character all day every day. But luckily I had Paul on the team, which you guys know, Uncle Iroh, who was the kindest person I’ve ever met. And he was extremely supportive to me throughout the process of becoming Prince Zuko. And I think this goes for everyone, like, every episode, the acting, the plot, the CGI gets better and better and better, so I’m really excited for you guys to binge it all in one night,” he adds.
2. Gordon claims he’s very much like Aang
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Unlike Dallas who is too nice to be Zuko in real life, Gordon shares at the press con that out of everyone in the cast, he believes he’s the one who is most like his character.
“No bias or anything, but definitely me,” says Gordon, who undoubtedly seems like a happy-go-lucky kid. We can’t even think of any other actor who might be more suitable for that role than him. There’s something about his baby face that manages to squeeze in tough expressions that make him a good fit for the role.
3. Dallas (Prince Zuko) was afraid of Daniel (Lord Ozai) even in real life!
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No need to act anymore, Dallas admittedly got scared even in real life when he saw Daniel. This feeling gave him a more natural push to act the scenes between Prince Zuko and Lord Ozai!
“It was extremely intimidating because, like, his chest was huge! His arms were bigger than my head,” he explains. “but I’m glad that I was able to share such a good experience with him.”
IS IT WORTH WATCHING?
It’s a fresh perspective. The first episode took a different but very familiar approach. From well-choreographed bending scenes to visually stunning landscapes, each frame of the series was a testament to the dedication and creativity of the production team. It may not look as lively as the animated series, but the world doesn’t look that colorful anyway.
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The linear storytelling made the narrative easy to follow, not only for long-time fans but also for those new to the fandom. They made the visual effects as realistic as they can get to make bending elements seem as natural as possible. In terms of casting, we believe each one portrayed their characters as close to the animated as film as possible while establishing their own identities to their roles. ATLA’s soundtrack is the cherry on top, though! We got goosebumps even just by watching the trailers.
As someone who grew up watching the animated series, we are excited to see more of the iconic scenes, references, as well as surprises that the live action has in store for us. While it’s still too early to judge as we have yet to watch the remaining seven episodes, we’re hopeful that the series won’t ruin our amazing childhood memories of Aang and the gang. It’s also worth acknowledging that there are things that may not be directly adaptable to real life so we’ll cut them some slack.
The short answer to whether it’s worth watching or not? We’ll say YES, IT’S WORTH WATCHING.
Under the direction of showrunner and writer Albert Kim (known for Sleepy Hollow and Nikita) and executive producers Jabbar Raisani (Lost in Space, Stranger Things) and Michael Goi, along with directors Roseanne Liang and Jet Wilkinson, the series is set to be available on Netflix this Thursday (February 22, 2024).
Yip, yip!
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During the Press Conference ,ang cucute Nila at kay ganda nito Panoorin at today na pala magstart![❤️](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/svg/2764.svg)
Beautiful blog Ms.Ces
Yes ms. Cess definitely this is worth watching.. aside exciting tlga 2. Panoorin. with the effects.. excecute amazing martial arts.. and Gordon cormier is a fil-canadian..thank you for sharing this ms cess..
Omggg must watch this, trailer pa lang ay mukhang magandaa na![😍](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/svg/1f60d.svg)