Netflix’s Live-Action Avatar: The Last Airbender Casts Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Uncle Iroh, Lim Kay Siu as Gyatso, and Ken Leung as Commander Zhao.
 |
(From left to right): Lindsey Liberatore, Jet Wilkinson, Jabbar Raisani, Albert Kim, Michael Goi, Ian Ousley, Dallas Liu, Roseanne Liang, Dan Lin (Front row): Kiawentiio, Gordon Cormier
|
Netflix has cast three more roles for its live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon beloved animated series
Avatar: The Last Airbender, including fan-favorite character Uncle Iroh, the streaming service said Tuesday (Nov. 16), as production on the show began in Vancouver.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim’s Convenience, The Mandalorian) will play Uncle Iroh, a retired Fire Nation general and the wise and nurturing mentor to his hot-headed nephew, Prince Zuko.
 |
| (From left to right): Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Lim Kay Siu, Ken Leung |
Additionally, Lim Kay Siu (Anna and The King, Nightwatch) has joined the show as Gyatso, a kind and caring Air Nomad monk who is the guardian, father figure and best friend to Aang.
Last but not least, the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender has cast Ken Leung (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Industry) as Commander Zhao, a scheming and ambitious Fire Nation military officer who’s eager to leverage an unexpected encounter with a desperate Prince Zuko to advance his personal goals.
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender series is described as “an authentic adaptation of the award-winning and beloved Nickelodeon animated series” that is “reimagined as a live-action adventure.”
 |
| (From left to right): Ian Ousely, Kiawentiio, Gordon Cormier, Dallas Liu |
|
Along with announcing this new casting and start of production Tuesday in Vancouver, Netflix also revealed specific details about how Avatar: The Last Airbender will be shot using “a new, custom-built facility using some of the same cutting-edge technology that was used for Netflix’s The Midnight Sky and 1899, and Disney’s The Mandalorian.”
Per Netflix, “The state of the art stage, designed and operated by Pixomondo (PXO) Virtual Production, is 84 feet across and 28 feet high with 23,000 square feet of stage space and more than 3000 LED Panels, making it one of the biggest virtual production volumes in North America.”
According to the streaming service, “The virtual production stage which allows for visual effects to be done in real time in camera, combining multiple environments on a single stage, will set a new standard for immersive storytelling.”
“We’re thrilled to start production on this incredible project, and we’re especially excited to work with the technology-benders at PXO to create the wondrous world of Avatar: The Last Airbender using the most advanced techniques available to filmmakers anywhere in the world,” Avatar: The Last Airbender showrunner Albert Kim said in a statement Tuesday.
Kim (Sleepy Hollow, Nikita) serves as showrunner, executive producer and writer on Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, a role he took on in August of this year following the 2020 exit of the original animated series’ creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, from the Netflix adaptation.
Alongside Kim, Rideback’s Dan Lin (The Lego Movie, Aladdin) and Lindsey Liberatore (Walker) serve as executive producers, as well as Michael Goi (Swamp Thing, American Horror Story). Goi, Roseanne Liang (also a co-executive producer), Jabbar Raisani and Jet Wilkinson direct.
See the new “Avatar: The Last Airbender” cast members below, courtesy of Netflix.
Official Netflix press release:
"AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER" COMMENCES PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
LIVE-ACTION SERIES ROUNDS OUT CAST WITH PAUL SUN-HYUNG LEE, LIM KAY SIU AND KEN LEUNG
NETFLIX AND PIXOMONDO PARTNER FOR ONE OF THE LARGEST VIRTUAL PRODUCTIONS IN NORTH AMERICA
· Today Netflix announced that production began in Vancouver on the live-action epic adventure Avatar: The Last Airbender based on the beloved animated series from Nickelodeon.
· Further casting for the series was confirmed:
· Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (he/him; Kim's Convenience, The Mandalorian) will play Uncle Iroh, a retired Fire Nation general and the wise and nurturing mentor to his hot-headed nephew, Prince Zuko.
· Lim Kay Siu (he/him; Anna and The King, Nightwatch) will play Gyatso, a kind and caring Air Nomad monk who is the guardian, father figure and best friend to Aang.
· Ken Leung (he/him; Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Industry) will play Commander Zhao, a scheming and ambitious Fire Nation military officer who's eager to leverage an unexpected encounter with a desperate Prince Zuko to advance his personal goals.
· The new cast joins previously announced Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Zuko and Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai.
· Filming for the series will take place in a new, custom-built facility using some of the same cutting-edge technology that was used for Netflix's The Midnight Sky and 1899, and Disney's The Mandalorian. The state of the art stage, designed and operated by Pixomondo ("PXO") Virtual Production, is 84 feet across and 28 feet high with 23,000 square feet of stage space and more than 3000 LED Panels, making it one of the biggest virtual production volumes in North America.
· The virtual production stage which allows for visual effects to be done in real time in camera, combining multiple environments on a single stage, will set a new standard for immersive storytelling.
· Albert Kim, Showrunner, Executive Producer, Writer: "We're thrilled to start production on this incredible project, and we're especially excited to work with the technology-benders at PXO to create the wondrous world of Avatar: The Last Airbender using the most advanced techniques available to filmmakers anywhere in the world."
About Avatar: The Last Airbender
The series will be an authentic adaptation of the award-winning and beloved Nickelodeon animated series AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER reimagined as a live-action adventure. Albert Kim (Sleepy Hollow, Nikita) serves as showrunner, executive producer, and writer. Alongside Kim, Rideback's Dan Lin (The Lego Movie, Aladdin) and Lindsey Liberatore (Walker) serve as executive producers as well as Michael Goi (Swamp Thing, American Horror Story). Goi, Roseanne Liang (also a co-executive producer), Jabbar Raisani and Jet Wilkinson direct.
About Pixomondo
Pixomondo is an award-winning visual effects studio with offices in North America and Europe. Pixomondo won an Academy Award for its VFX work on Martin Scorsese's Hugo and several Emmys for Game of Thrones. The company is Emmy nominated for its VFX work on Westworld, Star Trek: Discovery and The Orville. Recent and current work includes Tom Clancy's Without Remorse starring Michael B. Jordan, David Oyelowo's family adventure film The Water Man, the action pic Greenland starring Gerard Butler and the next Roland Emmerich feature, Moonfall.
###
Subscribe to the NEW official
Avatar: The Last Airbender YouTube channel!:
https://at.nick.com/AvatarSubscribe
Originally published: November 16, 2021 at 19:27 GMT.
