The creators of The Last Airbender have left Netflix's live-action adaptation

The original creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender have departed Netflix’s upcoming live-action series remake. Creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko announced their departure via a blog post and Instagram post, respectively - citing creative differences with Netflix as one of their reasons for leaving. 

Konietzko stated:

To be clear, this was not a simple matter of us not getting our way. Mike and I are very collaborative people; we did not need all of these ideas to come from us. As long as we felt those ideas were in line with the spirit and integrity of Avatar, we would have happily embraced them. However, we ultimately came to the belief that we would not be able to meaningfully guide the direction of the series.

DiMartino said:

I realized I couldn’t control the creative direction of the series, but I could control how I responded. So, I chose to leave the project. It was the hardest professional decision I’ve ever had to make, and certainly not one that I took lightly, but it was necessary for my happiness and creative integrity. 

Netflix’s live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender was announced back in 2018, and both Konietzko and DiMartino left after two long years of development on the project. Clearly, it’s a massive blow to fans of the series - most of whom were only invested in this remake because the original creators were involved. The animated series’ composer Jeremy Zuckerman was also set to return. 

At this point, do we even need a remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender?

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.