Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko mention they have huge plans for Avatar Studios -- 20 years-worth.
Its first project is an animated feature film, with future projects coming to Paramount+ and Nickelodeon. DiMartino and Konietzko took time to appear on an episode of the
Avatar: Braving the Elements podcast, and though they say they're hard at work on expanding the Avatarverse, DiMartino warned that "it's going to take a while before new stuff starts percolating out there." But once the new material is ready, there will be plenty of it.
Konietzko says that he and DiMartino have a "very ambitious, multi-tiered" plan to dig into "this big, rich, largely untapped history and future in the Avatar world." Later, he followed up by saying that "Each of these projects [has] its own feeling, its own tone and look, so it will all feel true to the Avatar world, but they will all be very different expressions of it so it will really deepen it and expand it," adding "I think the new stuff will even push into other audiences [beyond Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra]."
Konietzko went on to say that there were ideas that the two have been excited about for a long time that they're finally getting the chance to explore, as well as things that are just being figured out.
DiMartino added, "We're coming in now and we have unprecedented support from Nickelodeon, so it is the franchise, the shows and animated stuff, but also other stuff beyond, in publishing, and in podcasts like you're doing and all that stuff. We have all the ideas and ideally we're going to get to, over the years, explore all of them and get to make them, but it'll take some time. If we make all this stuff, you guys will just be podcasting for about the next 20 years or so."
Earlier, DiMartino explained, "Looking at this giant picture, we're not, like, 'oh we have all of these ideas and we might get to make one of them.'"
It sounds like Nickelodeon plans for
Avatar: The Last Airbender to become a heavyweight franchise, with plans for the future rivaling those of
Star Trek, the
Star Wars universe, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fans would do well to remember that animation takes a long time and try to be patient while waiting for the first new project to arrive.
While Konietzko and DiMartino didn't talk too much about the specific projects they were working on, their comments suggest a wide range of content that will consist of old ideas and new, exploring the "Avatar-verse" in different styles and tones, with something to enjoy for everyone. With a movie on the way and fans speculating about the tales that could be told by the studio, there's a lot of content coming, and the creative liberty offered to the creators means that fans might be seeing what they want and more.
What do you think of DiMartino and Konietzko's big plans for Avatar Studios and the future of the Avatarverse? Let me know in the comments!
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