Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
After years of development, the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender burst onto our screens in early 2024. After a strong performance, Netflix handed the show a double-season renewal on March 6th, 2024, which will conclude the show. Here’s our September 2024 update on everything we know about the upcoming season, including who will be playing Toph, where the series will be heading next storywise, and most importantly, all the production updates and potential release date window.
When was Avatar: The Last Airbender Renewed for Seasons 2-3?
As we stated above, Netflix on March 6th confirmed that the series will be concluding with two additional seasons (a trend we’ve since seen continued with 3 Body Problem) and, in this instance, “to finish Aang’s story — mirroring the structure of the animated series that had three books/seasons for Aang’s story.”
Episode counts weren’t revealed about the show’s future, with Netflix saying they’ll be shared later. At a minimum, we’d expect the next two seasons to be eight episodes apiece.
While we won’t discuss the viewership numbers in depth here, we will say that the show spent six weeks in the global Netflix top 10s, picking up 442.60 million viewing hours, which equates to 61.20 million views. Throughout those six weeks in the global top 10s, the show tracked similarly to the viewership of One Piece, another live-action adaptation series that scored a season 2 renewal.
Renewal poster for Avatar: The Last Airbender
New Showrunners for Season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender
In April 2024, it was revealed that Albert Kim would be stepping back from being the series’ showrunner and working solely in an executive producer capacity for season 2. Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani, who played pivotal roles in the first season, will take over the reins.
Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
At Paleyfest LA 2024, an Avatar: The Last Airbender panel occurred after the announcements of a change of showrunner, although Albert Kim was present. When Kim was asked about what he saw in the two new stewards of the show when making season 1 that gave him confidence in handing over the reins, he said:
“[The show is] in the best possible hands. Both of them were so involved in the first season, were so vital to making the season what it was. I have utter confidence in what they’re going to do. I know that Christine, who’s out here today with a bunch of our writers who are all here, they’re hard at work on the scripts for season two. I’m looking forward to seeing what they’re going to do as much as anyone. I’m very, very confident and happy with the hands that the show’s in and where it’s going to go.”
What can we expect from Season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender?
Aang to learn Water and Earth Bending
With Katara as the new Master of Waterbending, Aang will learn everything he needs to know about Waterbending from her on their journey. That means he needs to seek either a Master Firebender or Master Earthbender to develop his Avatar powers further.
Naturally, Aang will think of Bumi to learn Earthbending from, but Team Avatar is unaware that Omashu has fallen to the Fire Nation. So unless they can rescue Bumi, Aang must seek a different Earthbending Master. Fans of the cartoon will know that Aang will run into Toph, a.k.a the Blind Bandit, and a Master Earthbender.
Picture: Gordon Cormier as Aang – Netflix
Will Zuko betray Iroh?
Iroh has been the perfect father figure for Zuko thus far, and the young Firebender is slowly learning more about empathy and humility. However, will Zuko’s resolve to capture Aang be increased further as he watches his sister’s success from afar?
If capturing Aang means casting his uncle aside, will Zuko take that opportunity?
Picture: Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko – Netflix
Katara continues to master Waterbending
Katara has proven to be a Waterbending prodigy and has already been acknowledged as the Master of Waterbending from Pakku. However, as Aang will be her first pupil, there’s still much for Katara to learn on her journey. Expect to see even more incredible Waterbending mastery from Katara in season 2.
Picture: Kiawentiio as Katara – Netflix
Azula has already proven the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree by showcasing her ambition and conquering the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu. The last Earth Kingdom stronghold to take on the forces of the Fire Nation is the capital city, Ba Sing Se. Having proven her tactical prowess, Azula will have Ba Sing Se set firmly in her sights.
Picture: Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula – Netflix
New Locations and Characters
We’ve already mentioned how Toph will appear in the future seasons and we’ll talk about the open casting call below but there’s plenty of other characters and locations to explore in the forthcoming seasons. We’ve covered them in depth here, but as a quick run-through:
New characters include Toph Beifong, Hama, Keui, Long Feng, Combustion Man, Piandao, and Guru Pathik. New locations will include Ba Sing Se, The Swamp, Eastern Air Temple, Sun Warriors, and The Boiling Rock.
Who is in the cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2?
Returning Cast Members for Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2
We expect all of the following cast members to return and reprise their roles in ATLA season 2:
- Gordon Cormier as Aang
- Kiawentiio as Katara
- Ian Ousley as Sokka
- Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko
- Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Uncle Iroh
- Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai
- Elizabeth Yu as Azula
- Ken Leung as Commander Zhao
- Ruy Iskandar as Lietenant Jee
- Thalia Tran as Mai
- Momona Tamada as Ty Lee
Who will be playing Toph in Avatar: The Last Airbender?
On June 11th, 2024, we got word of the first major (and open) casting call for the upcoming seasons, which was for Toph, expected to have a major presence in the forthcoming season. The open-casting call lists attributes they’d like from the person who would eventually play the character, encouraging those “who are blind or have low vision” to submit. They also describe the character: “She is sassy, confident, and unfiltered. For most of her life, her strength and formidable earthbending skills have been suppressed, but now, on the run as the Avatar’s earthbending master, she is uninhibited to become the fierce warrior she believes she is inside. Dance and/or martial arts experience a plus.”
Picture: Netflix / Nickelodeon
At Geeked Week, Netflix revealed that Miya Cech would play the pivotal character of Toph Beifong for season 2. Cech appeared in Netflix’s Rim of the World in addition to roles in American: Girl: Corrine Tan, The Darkest Mind, and Marvelous and the Black Hole. In a statement provided to the press, Cech said she was training hard for the role and had martial arts experience in addition to being excited to represent her Chinese heritage.
What is the production status of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2?
As of September 2024, filming has not yet officially got underway, although the show is absolutely in pre-production, and the cast are all in Vancouver for Boot Camp (training). That was confirmed by Dallas Liu and Ian Ousley, who were present at GeekedWeek, telling the website FanBolt, “We have flown from Vancouver to Atlanta, Georgia to do this. And we will fly right back. We are doing boot camp at the moment. We’re in prep. We are embodying the characters through our weapons, through our spirits, through our hearts, through our eyes.”
On September 25th, Netflix shared the crew in Vancouver doing a table read for the upcoming second season:
Picture: Netflix
When are cameras actually set to roll? Our intel continues to be that production gets underway on October 7th, 2024 (originally set for mid-September), with the current planned wrap date set for March 21st, 2025.
That means season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender will be in production for 23 weeks and 4 days (~6 months) and take breaks for major holidays in between. According to numerous reports, seasons 2 and 3 are expected to be filmed back to back but with one notable change. You may have heard that Avatar: The Last Airbender made full use of pioneering technology, sometimes called a virtual sound stage or even The Volume. Although that technology will likely still be used going forward, reporting from Knight Edge Media suggests we’ll see less in the coming seasons in favor of “traditional real-life sets.”
When could we expect a second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix?
We are likely a year or two away from learning the official release date for the second season of ATLA. Using the first season’s production as the second season’s release benchmark, fans could wait for ATLA to return until maybe 2026, but at the earliest, very late 2025.
While not a perfect comparison due to many filming restrictions on season 1, that season had a 27-month gap between the start of filming the first season (November 16th, 2021) and its subsequent release (February 22nd, 2024).
Note: Contains contributions from Jacob Robinson.
Are you looking forward to Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.
