The last time we posted about M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming cartoon-to-movie adaptation, The Last Airbender, producer Frank Marshall said that, “all is well in post [production]“ and that we would see a (full) trailer around Christmas. But according to one of the film’s stars, Aasif Mandvi, the Sixth Sense director is most likely, “pulling his hair out in the editing room.”

Of course, Andvi isn’t Shyamalan, so I’m sure it’s just his best guesstimate – plus, the actor says stressing out in the editing phase is part of the usual process. However, I imagine Andvi’s not that far off, since The Last Airbender is by far the biggest project Shyamalan has ever done as a director who is accustomed to smaller, more intimate films where subtle character interaction prevails over special effects and action (for example: one of the only fight scenes Shyamalan has ever shot up until this point was towards the end of Unbreakable).

Andvi went on to talk to MTV about the visuals and action that will be in The Last Airbender – “There’s a lot of martial arts, there’s a lot of really cool special effects and CGI and action.” But he was quite reserved with the details, saying that, “it’s going to look really cool, and I know what it’s going to look like and I’m not telling you!” Oh, c’mon, pretty please! No? Oh well…

However, Andvi did go on to talk about another aspect of the film – working with Slumdog Millionaire star, Dev Patel. Here’s what he had to say – “He’s a black belt… That kid knows his martial arts, so they needed to help me. I was the old guy on set who was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing here.’ He taught me how to cheat at ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire… That’s really all he taught me.”

If you want, you can head over to MTV Splash Page to watch the video of Andvi talking about The Last Airbender.

In case, like me, you’re not familiar with the story of The Last Airbender (the original cartoon is called Avatar: The Last Airbender, but the name had to be changed when James Cameron and his ideas came along…), here’s the general lowdown thanks to MTV Splash Page:

“In the fantastical world of “Airbender,” there are four tribes-Air, Water, Earth and Fire-each of which can control one of the four elements. The Fire folks have been waging an incessant war against the other nations, when a young child named Aang (12-year-old newcomer Noah Ringer) discovers he’s the only person on the planet who has the ability to manipulate all four elements and, perhaps, bring lasting peace to the land.”

Since I’m not familiar with the original cartoon series, I can’t speak about whether or not it works in that context, nor if the above premise for the movie follows the series to the letter (Shyamalan has said in the past that he planned to stay true to the fans and the source material). But the premise to me sounds like it has great potential as a fantasy-action film, with my anticipation only heightened by the first teaser trailer that was released (I wasn’t expecting it to impress me but it REALLY did).

However, the thing I’m most interested in about this project is the fact that M. Night Shyamalan has written and directed it. As I said, he’s used to smaller films that are certainly not as fantastical in nature as The Last Airbender. I’ll be interested to see if the genre is a strength for Shyamalan, and if he’ll redeem himself after the last three or four disappointing (to say the least) cinematic outings. The elements are all there (get it?) and I hope Shyamalan gets the most out of them.

Are you a fan of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series, and if so does it seem like they’re sticking to the story? And if you’re not a fan originally, do you like the sound of the film?

The Last Airbender is scheduled to hit theaters on July 2nd in the U.S., and on August 13th in the UK, both in 2010.

Source: MTV Splash Page

• The Last Airbender Updates
• Blown Away by Teaser Trailer for ‘The Last Airbender’
• Shyamalan Making ‘The Last Airbender’ As It Should Be?
• Images of Main Characters & Bending Powers in The Last Airbender
• Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ Gets New Cast Members
• First Look At Key Characters In ‘The Last Airbender’

Frank Marshall, producer for M.Night Shyamalan’s adaptation of The Last Airbender, has given some updates on the status of the project via his Twitter account.

On Twitter, Marshall said the following on Sunday:

“For those of you wondering about LAST AIRBENDER, all is well in post and we r working on a trailer for Xmas…”

When exactly in December and what movie it’ll be attached to, we don’t yet know. However, if they keep to that timing, both Sherlock Holmes and Avatar are opening on Christmas day and a week before, respectively.

Both of those films will be major holiday blockbusters and both would fit well for the target audience for The Last Airbender. My guess goes to James Cameron’s Avatar, which conveniently shares the name which M.Night and crew chose to drop from their film’s title, as to avoid confusion with Cameron’s little project.

I can’t wait to see more from this movie. I loved the cartoon series (that’s Avatar: The Last Airbender) and I have hopes that this will turn around Shyamalan’s career and break the trend of his last few disappointing films. It’s important that we finally see him take on something that’s not his own original work and I’m excited by his claims that he’ll be following the source material closely.

Marshall also tweeted recently that post-production is being done in Philadelphia, M.Night’s home town, where they also filmed the movie in the largest set ever built on the east coast.

What did you think of the teaser trailer and is this a film franchise you’re looking forward to?

The Last Airbender opens July 2, 2010.

Follow Frank Marshall @LeDoctor and follow Screen Rant’s team by checking out our Twitter accounts listed on the About Us page.

• The Last Airbender Update: Shyamalan Currently Editing
• Shyamalan Making ‘The Last Airbender’ As It Should Be?
• Blown Away by Teaser Trailer for ‘The Last Airbender’
• Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ Gets New Cast Members
• First Look At Key Characters In ‘The Last Airbender’
• Images of Main Characters & Bending Powers in The Last Airbender

[UPDATE: All the images have been pulled at the request of Paramount]

In May, we got our first look at two of the main characters in M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming epic, The Last Airbender. They featured Dev Patel and young Noah Ringer in full costume as Prince Zuko and Aang respectively.

Adding to that, today we have for you some character portraits that reveal some of the other key characters you may have been wondering about: Sokka & Katara. We also have some first-looks at all four bending powers in action.

Katara is a waterbender and brother of Sokka who doesn’t have any powers himself, but acts as the comic relief and heart of the adventurers becoming a brave warrior and strategist as the story unfolds. The pair join Aang and help him on his journey of becoming the Avatar.

Check out the following picture which reveals characters using all four forms of bending: air, water, fire and earth:

THESE IMAGES HAVE BEEN REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF PARAMOUNT

The special effects should look amazing in the movie and I can’t way to see the four types of bending on screen.

That’s not all! Pages 2 & 3 have the four new character images.

Continue Reading ‘New Character & Bending Images For The Last Airbender’

• First Look At Key Characters In ‘The Last Airbender’
• Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ Gets New Cast Members
• The Last Airbender Update: Shyamalan Currently Editing
• Blown Away by Teaser Trailer for ‘The Last Airbender’
• Shyamalan Making ‘The Last Airbender’ As It Should Be?
• The Last Airbender Updates

This week:

Revenge of The Fallen meets Dawn of the Dinosaurs; it’ll take 6 years to see the last Airbender; Adams looks on as Batman fights Marky Mark; George Clooney leaves Warner Bros; The Green Hornet is delayed and Tony Scott, Denzel Washington and Chris Pine are stoppable.

Box Office

Sandra Bullock’s The Proposal banked a little less than $14 million bringing the total of the comedy to $86 million. The magic century mark is within spitting distance.

The Hangover is hanging in there with a gross of $4.5 million. The R-rated comedy now has a spectacular total of $198 million.

The Cameron Diaz starring My Sisters Keeper took about $6 million giving the film a total of $23 million. The Taking Of Pelham 123 has so far taken $56.9 million – look for it to stop at the $60 million mar.. Year One banked just over $2 million for a flaccid $37 million total while Night at the Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian took home just under $2 million to bring its grand total to $166 million.

Movie News

1. Now that the marketing machine has started up for M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender all eyes have turned to the potential sequels to the film.

The producer of the film, Frank Marshall has discussed the possible time frame of the sequel and Shaymalan’s involvement. Marshall said:

“One of the things we’ll be doing is using the sets, ships and elements for each different nation in this film and incorporating them into movies two and three. We’re not waiting. There just isn’t enough time. Night will finish this movie, then the script and then we’ll prepare for the next one. I think it’ll probably happen over six years.”

I’ve been a fan of Shayamalan’s work for the last decade or so, and while I will admit that his films have been declining since he made his mark with The Sixth Sense I’ve always been willing to defend his choices. However, I can’t say that I’m looking forward to The Last Airbender. I’m not a fan of animation and the film looks terrible.

I know that there’s a lot of people out there looking forward to this – but I’m not one of them.

Source: SlashFilm

2. Amy Adams will join Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in David O. Russell’s The Fighter.

“(The long in-development film) revolves around the life of boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) and trainer-brother Dick Eklund (Bale), chronicling their early days on the rough streets of Lowell, Mass., through Eklund’s battle with drugs and Ward’s eventual world championship in London.”

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Bale will be intense, Wahlberg will be wooden and Adams will be a love interest.

Over the years Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Darren Aronofsky have been attached to the troubled film that is set to start shooting soon.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

3. George Clooney is ending his longstanding relationship with Warner Bros. The star along with his producing partner Grant Heslov will move their Smokehouse production company off the Warner lot to Sony Pictures.

Warner Bros has been behind most of Clooney’s big hits over the years from his star-making stint in ER through to The Perfect Storm and The Ocean’s trilogy.

Read the press release below to see what Sony head Amy Pascal and Clooney have to say, as well as a list of the films that Smokehouse is currently developing:

“George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures are in final negotiations to sign an exclusive two-year theatrical development and production deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment, it was announced today by Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Picture Entertainment and Chairman of the studio’s Motion Picture Group.”

“Commenting on the announcement, Clooney said, ‘Warner Bros. has been a great place to work and I’ve felt like part of a family for almost 20 years. So in moving on, I’m leaving a terrific company and a lot of dear friends. They’re a class act. In looking ahead, I’m tremendously excited to be working at Sony Pictures, and we all feel like it’s a perfect match for Smokehouse. Grant Heslov and I hope to deliver the kind of films that will make them proud.’”

“We admire and respect George and Grant as filmmakers and producers and we couldn’t be more excited to be in business with them and their talented team at Smokehouse Pictures,” said Pascal. “The broad range of quality projects they have championed and the compelling and sometimes provocative material they support says everything about their company and their creative aspirations. While we have been trimming production deals overall for the last few years, we see real value in opening our doors to producers with their critical and commercial track record and their artistic point of view, and we know they will be a fantastic addition to the Sony Pictures family.”

“My nine year relationship with Warner Bros. was extremely gratifying and now, George and I look forward to Smokehouse being a part of the Sony family,” Heslov said.

The Smokehouse Pictures team includes Senior Vice President of Development Nina Wolarsky, and creative executive Alex Meenehan. The company is currently in development on the following projects with Warner Bros:

THE CHALLENGE
Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. An adaptation of Jonathan Mahler’s nonfiction book chronicling the historic Supreme Court case in which two lawyers sued the Bush administration on behalf of accused terrorist Salim Hamdan.

OUR BRAND IS CRISIS
A satirical comedy about American spin doctors competing in the same Presidential election in Bolivia. Based on the documentary by Rachel Boynton, with a script by Peter Straughan (MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS).
FARRAGUT NORTH
An adaptation of Beau Willimon’s critically acclaimed play, set during the Iowa primary of a presidential race.

ESCAPE FROM TEHRAN
The true story of how the CIA used a fake movie project to smuggle hostages out of 1979 Tehran. Chris Terrio is writing the screenplay.

THE TOURIST
A contemporary spy thriller about a spy who risks everything to reveal a conspiracy after he’s accused of a murder he didn’t commit. Based on the bestselling book by Olen Steinhauer. Tony Peckham is writing the screenplay.

THE INNOCENT MAN
Based on the bestselling nonfiction book by John Grisham, the true story of murder and injustice in a small town in Oklahoma. Adapted by David Gordon Green..”

The irony of this story being that just days before this deal was sealed Pascal ditched Clooney’s Ocean movie pals Steven Soderbergh and Brad Pitt’s Moneyball due to script issues.

Source: Deadline Hollywood

4. Those of you who have been waiting to see Seth Rogan as The Green Hornet better prepare to wait a little bit longer.

The comic book adaptation’s release date has now been changed from June 25, 2010 to July 9, 2010 release. It’s only two weeks so don’t worry too much.

The Michel Gondry directed Green Hornet will now be sandwiched between Toy Story 3 and Twilight: New Moon.

Source: Film School Rejects

5. It looks like Tony Scott’s runaway train film Unstoppable might be…er stoppable after all.

The film was set to star Scott’s go-to-guy Denzel Washington and Star Trek’s Chris Pine, however 20^th Century Fox have hot the brakes of the film because of budget concerns.

Unstoppable was set to go before cameras this fall but that start date now looks uncertain. One of the reasons for the studios cold feet is the so-so performance of the latest Scott and Washington action film The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 which has so far grossed $56 million from an estimated $100 million budget.

Washington currently gets $20 million a film while Pine is probably asking for a couple of million following the success of Star Trek.

More when we get it.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

That’s it for now. See you at the movies.

• Chris Pine In Talks To Be ‘Unstoppable’
• Denzel Washington Is ‘Unstoppable’ Again
• ‘Unstoppable’ Without Denzel Washington
• Chris Pine In Negotiations To Be The Next Jack Ryan
• The Battle Over The Rights To Terminator 5
• Michel Gondry To Direct The Green Hornet?

IGN and a few other sites were invited to the set of The Last Airbender recently and reported back on some positive and interesting things they got to witness and talk about with the director of the film, M. Night Shyamalan.

Most important to note is how he’s seemingly doing the project just as we fans wanted it made – with respect to the source material and with care attention to details.

M. Night had this to say about the project:

“It felt like an important movie [to make]… The mythology [of the series] was so well thought out and has Buddism and martial arts and… it has the deeper issues at its core. It’s going to be a really fun summer movie, but underneath it [there is] a seriousness that talks about genocide and balance in the world and all the things that interest me that you’ve seen in other movies I’ve made.”

The television series, titled Avatar: The Last Airbender (“Avatar” was dropped from the film title to avoid confusion with James Cameron’s project of the same name), was amazing in and of itself. It was designed in a very structured manner with a strong story and amazing character development. Even as a cartoon, the shots were almost set up as if it were theatrical making the show ripe for the picking to made into a feature film.

M. Night realizes this and I have high hopes that he’ll give fans and newcomers alike, something to enjoy and something that will redeem his career after bringing us some disappointing films in recent times.

Helping the director do justice to this movie in particular is not just the fans who want the movie done right, but his two daughters who are “obsessed” with the TV show and would probably disown their daddy if he ruined it. Shyamalan says he’s being “extra careful” with the major plot points and story elements. IGN mentions that this film has taken 2-3 times as long as his previous projects and that has to do with the extensive re-takes he’s forced in important scenes to have it done perfect and the vast scale of the project in general.

If this movie does well, which I certainly hope it does, we’ll get a trilogy out of it. If we all like it, M.Night should be at the helm for the sequels as well.

After seeing the teaser trailer earlier this week, I’m very happy with the little bits we were given and I can’t wait for more. That being said, we’ve really seen nothing in terms of acting or action so we’ll have to wait and see. And there’s still that controversy over casting decisions, so I’m interested in seeing how they perform in character.

Some other interesting tidbits that IGN brought up is that from what they saw and heard on set (and can’t talk about), if it all comes to fruition, everyone should be “pleasantly surprised” with the movie. The other neat info is that the Philadelphia-based set of the movie is the largest ever built on the east coast, built by hundreds and hundreds of construction workers – I imagine they’re investing long-term with the hope of filming future installments there shortly after this one debuts.

It’s interesting to see what came of the Dragonball movie when compared to this…

Is this a movie that should definitely respect the source material?

The Last Airbender hits theaters July 2, 2010.

Source: IGN

• The Last Airbender Updates
• The Last Airbender Update: Shyamalan Currently Editing
• Blown Away by Teaser Trailer for ‘The Last Airbender’
• Images of Main Characters & Bending Powers in The Last Airbender
• First Look At Key Characters In ‘The Last Airbender’
• Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ Gets New Cast Members

We’ve got the teaser trailer for M. Night Shayamalan’s The Last Airbender and let me tell you: it is much cooler than I ever would’ve imagined! It opens with a badass kung-fu feel and closes with a promise of epic, action-packed adventure.

And unless they had one hell of editor cutting this trailer,  I dare say The Last Airbender is looking like the film that might finally redeem M. Night Shayamalan!

Based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender, Shayamalan’s film will also tell the story of a war-torn world divided into four nations, based on the four elements of Fire, Water, Earth and Air. From this world emerges a young boy named Aang (Noah Ringer), The Last Airbender, able to manipulate all four elements of Fire, Water, Earth and Air, who is prophesied to defeat the imperial Fire Nation and bring peace to the world.

Now that you know the story, check out the trailer for M. Night Shayamalan’s The Last Airbender:

[See post to watch Flash video]

I just love the arch of this trailer: the quiet, cool, kung-fu opening building to the epic war sequence with fire balls coating the sky. Awesome. And did I mention that the “airbending” effects looked pretty good? An effective way to employ CGI.

Most surprising for me was the total lack of “Shaymalanisms” in this trailer. With just about every one of M. Night’s prior movies I saw ten seconds of a trailer and could immediately tell it was him sitting in the director’s chair. If I didn’t already know he was doing The Last Airbender, I wouldn’t have guessed it. Apparently adapting somebody ELSE’S work for the screen seems to agree with Mr. Night. Good to see him branching out of his own head.

Suddenly The Last Airbender is on my list of most anticipated films of next year. Who knew? It’s currently slated for a July 2, 2010 release. Tell us what you thought of the teaser trailer.

Source: Slash Film

• The Last Airbender Update: Shyamalan Currently Editing
• Images of Main Characters & Bending Powers in The Last Airbender
• The Last Airbender Updates
• Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ Gets New Cast Members
• Shyamalan Making ‘The Last Airbender’ As It Should Be?
• First Look At Key Characters In ‘The Last Airbender’

Oscar-nominated producer Frank Marshall has recently spoken with both Coming Soon and Empire about the projects he has on the horizon. The Indiana Jones, Bourne and Sixth Sense producer has been in the business for over 30 years and is still going strong today, continually adding to a (mostly) solid resume.

The biggest area of interest on Marshall’s to-do list is the next Indiana Jones installment (which Shia LaBeouf recently said Steven Spielberg had “cracked the story,” for); in speaking with Empire about Indiana Jones 5, Marshall didn’t go so far as to say the movie has officially been greenlit, but says that the project could get to the concept/script development stage soon:

“It’s really about the script… Once we see that, we’ll see. We’re not going to wait another 20 years. We’d all love to make another one. I’m anxious to hear the idea!.. We [all] had a great time making the last one and, as Harrison [Ford] said, we need to make this one soon. We’re not getting any younger. [But] until there’s a script, nothing’s definite. I haven’t heard the idea.”

Other than Indy 5, Marshall has plenty on his plate for the next couple of years. M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender is currently filming, so he’s busy handling that, but at the same time he has another big franchise project on the horizon: a fourth Jason Bourne movie. Marshall says he would like to get shooting going on Bourne 4 next year, but there’s a lot that needs to be put into place before that can happen:

“We’d like to shoot [Bourne 4] next year… It’s trying to get everybody’s schedules in the right place and getting the script right. We’ve done pretty well with these scripts that are pretty loosely put together, but I’d like the script to be really solid this time before we go forward. We’re spending a lot of time on this story.”

Jason Bourne himself, Matt Damon, was once considered to possibly play Lance Armstrong in the recently announced biopic, but Damon’s age is the factor that probably won’t deliver him the role. Said Marshall: “The book really only takes Lance up to the first tour, so he’s only 21, and as much as Matt looks young, I’m not sure that he’s going to be able to do it.”

Continued on Page 2…

• Bourne 4 May Be Coming Later Before Sooner
• Indiana Jones 5 To Hit Screens By 2011?
• Matt Damon Talks Bourne 4
• Bourne 4 Aiming For A Summer 2011 Release
• Matt Damon Confirms Bourne 4 Is In Progress
• Harrison Ford & Karen Allen Talk Indiana Jones 5

One of the greatest cartoons ever, in my opinion, is Avatar: The Last Airbender. Last year, I watched all three seasons (called ‘books’ in their cool structure, named after the elements in the story) and while it took a few episodes to get into, it picked up fast and quickly became an incredible journey, a deep story and most of all, an entertaining series for all audiences.

Today, we finally have the first images of two main characters, Aang and Prince Zuko from the movie after the jump.

The show was critically acclaimed and a massive success for Nickelodeon. So, it was no surprise when they quickly went ahead and started to make a movie (or a trilogy of movies) based on the show. The project is headed by M. Night Shyamalan who desperately needs a new hit on his resume to counter his falling reputation from each of his movies being consecutively worse than the previous.

What raised a sense of worry about this particular project is that many thought it just too difficult to translate the cartoon into live-action without it either being too extreme, goofy and corny (similar to Dragonball Evolution), or it not respecting the source material and therefore, the built-in fanbase.

The situation got real bad later on in the process, when casting announcements started hitting the web and many folks were up in arms over alleged racist casting choices in selecting mostly Caucasian actors to play Asian characters. This was most notable when young pop star Jesse McCartney was cast as Prince Zuko.

Fans were not impressed. Could this situation have any more negatives going for it?

Conveniently, he dropped out, and more conveniently they cast a non-Caucasian actor to replace him. Hot from the buzz surrounding Slumdog Millionaire, the talented Dev Patel stepped in to play the role and I thought it was a great decision.

Continuing the trend of addressing the lack of a multi-cultural cast, further casting announcements were made over a month later adding Aasif Mendvi, Shaun Toub, Cliff Curtis and Keong Sim to the The Last Airbender’s roster.

There were still doubts surrounding the movie and I didn’t feel much positive for the project. That is, until now…

USA Today has a pair of exclusive photos of Noah Ringer, the 12-year old Karate star in full costume as Aang (the Avatar) and of Dev Patel in costume as Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation:

Noah Ringer in full costume as Aang

Dev Patel as Prince Zuko

Their costumes look awesome and the actors look good in character – except for Patel’s hair which is the same as in Slumdog and nothing like Zuko’s from the first season. That being said, we don’t know what context that photo is from. It could be a flashback or some other scene. You’ll notice the angle of his face hinders our view of the part of his face where his big scar should be.

With these images finally out, we can hopefully expect to see more popping up online. I’m interested in seeing the other main characters and most especially, Appa, the six-legged flying Sky Bison. For those of you who never saw the show, I know it sounds crazy.

What do you think of the live-action incarnations of Aang and Prince Zuko?

The Last Airbender (the leading title word “Avatar” was dropped as to avoid confusion with James Cameron’s Avatar) is scheduled to open July 2, 2010.

Airbender Trivia: Noah Ringer’s friends called him Avatar for years because of his resemblance to the character before even auditioning.

Source: USA Today

• Images of Main Characters & Bending Powers in The Last Airbender
• Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ Gets New Cast Members
• The Last Airbender Update: Shyamalan Currently Editing
• Blown Away by Teaser Trailer for ‘The Last Airbender’
• The Last Airbender Updates
• Shyamalan Making ‘The Last Airbender’ As It Should Be?

M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film The Last Airbender, a live-action adaptation of the popular Nickelodeon animated TV series, is one which undoubtedly will end up having a huge cast. We’ve already reported on some early casting news over the past few months, including Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel replacing Jesse McCartney as the character of Prince Zuko.

Well today we get four more people being added to the cast list: Aasif Mendvi, Shaun Toub, Cliff Curtis and Keong Sim. Don’t recognize those names? No worries: we’ve got the info you need to know about the actors and their roles in The Last Airbender.

Mandvi, who some may know from films and TV shows like Ghost Town, CSI and Jericho (to name but a few), will play the role of Commander Zhao, a character described as “an ambitious and hot-tempered Fire Nation commander.”

Shaun Toub, who we saw most recently helping Tony Stark build his first suit in Iron Man, is set to play Uncle Iroh, the “retired Fire Nation general who is the devoted surrogate parent to Dev Patel’s character, Zuko.”

Cliff Curtis, who some may know from the likes of Sunshine, Live Free or Die Hard and Training Day (amongst many others – he’s a busy man), will play the “ruthless ruler Fire Lord Ozai.”

And Sim, who’s only appeared as mainly extras in a handful of TV shows, has been cast as the character of Earthbending Father.

These four will join previously announced cast members Noah Ringer (who plays the title role), Nicola Peltz (Waterbender Katara), Jackson Rathbone (Katara’s brother Sokka), and Dev Patel (playing the previously mentioned Prince Zuko, prince of the Fire Nation).

Now, I’m not even going to pretend to lie and say I know all about the original Airbender TV series (in fact, I hadn’t even heard of it before the movie was announced). But from the images I’ve seen, and the story outline, it seems like it could work as a film–although it comes off (to an unknowing movie fan like myself) as similar in style to Dragonball Z (which we all know the movie version of looks horrific). Is that an unfair association on my part?

Just as a reminder of what all we’re talking about, here is the film synopsis for The Last Airbender:

Air, Water, Earth, Fire. Four nations tied by destiny until the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction. Caught between combat and courage, Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements. Aang teams with Katara (Nicola Peltz), a Waterbender, and her brother, Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), to restore balance to their war-torn world.

It’s been mainly casting news that’s been released about this flick so far, so we’ll have to wait until the trailers drop to truly get a sense of if it’s going to work or not.

However what’s got me interested right away is the fact that M. Night Shyamalan is attached to this project. Yes, he has seriously lost his way over the course of his last few films (even thinking about Lady in the Water makes me want to vomit), regardless, it’s interesting to see him try his hand at something like The Last Airbender. The man’s gone from creative and original thrillers to a live-action adaptation of an animated TV series – I think we ought to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, if only to see what he does with this thing.

The Last Airbender is scheduled for a July 2nd 2010 release.

Source: ComingSoon.net

• Images of Main Characters & Bending Powers in The Last Airbender
• First Look At Key Characters In ‘The Last Airbender’
• Blown Away by Teaser Trailer for ‘The Last Airbender’
• The Last Airbender Update: Shyamalan Currently Editing
• The Last Airbender Updates
• Shyamalan Making ‘The Last Airbender’ As It Should Be?

Yesterday, it was announced that Dev Patel, star of the hit Oscar-probable movie Slumdog Millionaire will be joining the cast of M.Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender. Just to clarify, the word “Avatar” was removed from the title to avoid confusion with James Cameron’s Avatar due out this December.

The good news is that Patel will be replacing singer Jesse McCartney to play the part of Prince Zuko, exile of the fire nation. As it turns out, young Mr. McCartney had scheduling issues that conflicted with shooting which is planned to begin in March. This I am sure, is a big relief to the many Airbender fans out there who made their outrage known about many of the initial casting decisions.

Jackson Rathbone, of Twilight fame, also had some scheduling issues with the shooting of New Moon but was able to work it out and he will be starring in both projects. Rathbone (who will play Sokka) and Patel will be joining Nicola Peltz (Katara) and newcomer martial artists Noah Ringer who will be playing the lead character, Aang.

This is a very good change in my opinion and it’s nice to see some non-Caucasian actors score a leading role in the project that’s been ripe with controversy with allegations of racist casting decisions for a story that is based on Asian culture.

Patel gave a solid performance in Slumdog Millionaire and I think he will play the part perfectly and look the part once in costume and with some hair modifications of course. Of all the characters, Zuko requires the most emotional range and acting skill to come off as the loved and hated character. I really hope this movie is done right and spawns a worthy trilogy – M.Night needs it and the fans deserve it.

What do you think of the updated cast for The Last Airbender?

The Last Airbender is due out in theaters July 2, 2010.

Source: Variety

• Images of Main Characters & Bending Powers in The Last Airbender
• First Look At Key Characters In ‘The Last Airbender’
• Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ Gets New Cast Members
• The Last Airbender Update: Shyamalan Currently Editing
• Shyamalan Making ‘The Last Airbender’ As It Should Be?
• Blown Away by Teaser Trailer for ‘The Last Airbender’

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that M. Night Shyamalan has picked some of the cast for his upcoming film, The Last Airbender.

The movie is based on Avatar: The Last Airbender, the popular animated series that ran from early 2005 up until this summer. The story was organized into 3 books (seasons) with each episode called a chapter. There are 20 chapters in each book with one extra in the final book making for a 61-episode run to tell the story and end it properly.

And that they did.

On top of winning an Emmy award and being one of Nickelodeon’s highest rated shows ever; the series spawned all sorts of merchandise including several video games – and now a potential feature film franchise.

Here is the cast thus far:

• Noah Ringer, a karate star chosen from an open casting call in Texas will play Aang, the central character (the Avatar) of the story. Aang is the last of his tribe and the story follows him as he and his companions travel the world in search of trainers to teach him to master the four elements.
• Nicola Peltz will play Katara of the Southern water tribe.
• Jackson Rathbone of recent Twilight fame will play Katara’s brother, Sokka.
• Jesse McCartney, the young singer, is currently in negotiations to play Zuko, the exiled prince of the Fire Nation.

I watched the entire series earlier this year and really loved it. It took a bit to get used to and there was a lot of corny stuff in the earlier episodes, but overall it was pretty incredible and it is on my list of greatest cartoons ever.

That being said, similar to my thoughts on the new Dragonball Evolution trailer, this will be very difficult to translate into live-action. Shyamalan’s recent track record hasn’t exactly been stellar, so I am eager to see if he can pull this off.

The first installment of The Last Airbender is due out on the big screen July 2, 2010.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

• Images of Main Characters & Bending Powers in The Last Airbender
• Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ Gets New Cast Members
• First Look At Key Characters In ‘The Last Airbender’
• Blown Away by Teaser Trailer for ‘The Last Airbender’
• The Last Airbender Update: Shyamalan Currently Editing
• The Last Airbender Updates

First off, I’ll say my favorite M. Night Shyamalan film and the one I feel is most re-watchable is Unbreakable. The comic book-based film was released in 1999 and featured a cast of two A-list actors in Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson.

When Unbreakable first came out, it was met with mixed criticism. Although it later became a hit and one of the better films under his belt, M. Night was discouraged from continuing on with that idea due to some of the negative initial reaction to the movie.

That mixed response was nothing compared to what he faced with his more recent films. Mr. Shyamalan has really hurt his fan base with his last two features: Lady in the Water and The Happening. Both of these films earned lower-than-expected box office gross and were met with overwhelmingly negative feedback (including here at Screen Rant).

Now is the time to turn back to what made M. Night so successful in the past by working on projects that the fans want – and it seems this just may be exactly the case. Speaking with Sci-Fi Wire about a possible Unbreakable sequel, M.Night said:

“I want to write it right now, but I want to write it for the right reasons. I want a story to pop into my head that is organic and expressive of who I am.”

I was fooled into seeing The Happening, but luckily missed out on Lady in the Water. I am therefore reluctant to see another original M. Night film. However, if it is an Unbreakable sequel then I’ll pre-order my tickets as soon as they’re available.

I think they should of done this a while ago. This could have easily continued as a franchise trilogy and with the emergence of the comic-book movie genre over the last few years, they should be getting on this project right away!

I would imagine that Bruce Willis would have to be back as the lead, and I would certainly hope to see Mr. Glass (Sam L.) make a return. A project like this is exactly what could flip the downslide of Shyamalan at the box office. It could also help build confidence and re-kindle the his dwindling fan base in preparation for the upcoming The Last Airbender trilogy that he is signed on for.

What do you guys think? Will you give M. Night another chance? Are you in for more Unbreakable action?

Source: Sci Fi Wire

• The Last Airbender Update: Shyamalan Currently Editing
• The Last Airbender Updates
• M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Devil’ Headed for the Screen [Updated]
• Shyamalan Making ‘The Last Airbender’ As It Should Be?
• Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ Gets New Cast Members
• Blown Away by Teaser Trailer for ‘The Last Airbender’