Netflix's live-action reboot of Avatar: The Last Airbender could feature Aang's predecessor Kyoshi as his mentor. The anime-inspired Avatar: The Last Airbender series takes place in the world of the Four Nations, with "benders" capable of controlling the element of the nation they were born into. The Avatar is the cyclically reincarnated protector of the world, and the only person capable of mastering all of the elements of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air.
Nickelodeon's Avatar focused on the young Airbender Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen) learning each element to put a stop to the Fire Nation's attack on the world. Avatar would lead to a sequel in 2012, The Legend of Korra, devoted to the adventures of Aang's successor Korra (Janet Varney). While Aang and Korra have been the faces of Avatar, they're far from the only Avatars fans of the franchise know and love.
Among Aang and Korra's Avatar predecessors is the Earth Nation-born Kyoshi. Set to be played by Yvonne Chapman on Netflix's Avatar, her role might carry some noticeable differences from how she was initially presented. Far from being just another supporting character, there is reason to think that Kyoshi might actually be Aang's (Gordon Cormier) chief Avatar guide on Netflix's new Avatar story.
Kyoshi Is A Popular Avatar (But Hasn't Been Seen Much)
Kyoshi has made her share of appearances on both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, voiced by Jennifer Hale. On both shows, Kyoshi usually is seen in moments where her young Avatar successor required some degree of guidance from one of their past lives. Still, Kyoshi wasn't an outright supporting character on either show. At times, Kyoshi even appeared without any spoken dialogue alongside other past Avatars, while the Kyoshi warriors led by Suki (Jennie Kwan) carried her torch. When it comes to her role in the Avatar franchise, her two books are what really fleshed out her story.
The Rise of Kyoshi established the unusual circumstances of her origins, with another Earthbender named Yun at first mistakenly identified as the new Avatar. The Shadow of Kyoshi followed up on this with Kyoshi being put through some bitter challenges. The most significant of these was Yun's emotional vengeance after losing everything he once had as the misidentified Avatar. This led to an emotional ending in which Kyoshi was forced to kill Yun. With so much more of Kyoshi's backstory seen in her novels than anywhere else, her prominent inclusion on the Netflix Avatar reboot's cast list is interesting.
Avatar Theory: Kyoshi Is Aang's Mentor In Netflix's Last Airbender Reboot
The fact that Aang's immediate Avatar predecessor, Roku, is not listed for the Netflix reboot while Kyoshi is might offer a clue into her role on the show. It seems that Kyoshi is being afforded a greater level of significance on the upcoming show than any Avatar other than Aang himself; it at least certainly suggests that Kyoshi will have a notable role. It might also run deeper than that, with Kyoshi being a genuine mentor to Aang.
That doesn't rule out Roku himself appearing in Netflix's live-action take on Avatar. The inclusion of the Air Nomad monk Gyatso (Lim Kay Siu) in the show confirms that Aang will have guidance from other sources. Gyatso was, after all, a mentor to Aang in the original Last Airbender series. Still, as an Avatar to come before Aang, Kyoshi would have many valuable lessons to teach him. If Netflix's Avatar is incorporating elements from The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi, her experiences could really help Aang in his darkest moments. More than that, Kyoshi mentoring Aang could add something new to Avatar.
Why This Avatar Theory Works For Aang & Kyoshi's Relationship
As a reboot of a series as widely enduringly loved as Avatar, the streaming platform's version won't want to be a simple carbon copy. One of the many failings of The Last Airbender was that it was merely a bland, emotionless recap of Book One condensed to 103 minutes. Netflix's Avatar is obviously determined to do its source material the live-action justice at which The Last Airbender movie failed. Kyoshi's legacy will continue to be an aspect of the new show, with the Kyoshi warriors to appear and Maria Zhang in the role of Suki. Still, the Avatar series will also need to add some new elements to the lore, and Kyoshi as a direct mentor to Aang would do just that.
With Avatars having the ability to directly communicate with their past selves, Aang and Kyoshi regularly interacting would work very easily. Going back to Kyoshi's stories in her two books, her mentoring Aang could bring her stories into the forefront of Avatar for the first time. Her early struggles and the tragedy of Yun would both be ripe for flashback material or even entire sections of episodes. Both could also form the basis of Kyoshi's perspective as an Avatar and how she will guide Aang on the Avatar's new adventure. If Kyoshi's mentor dynamic with Aang is well-received, it could even provide the basis for a spinoff devoted to her story. As one of the most loved Avatars aside from Aang and Korra, Kyoshi in a solo series would be a dream come true for Avatar fans.
With three seasons of material to pull from, the Netflix reboot of Avatar has no excuse to drop the ball as catastrophically as The Last Airbender live-action movie did. Fortunately, all indications point to it avoiding the pitfalls of its predecessor. Kyoshi's inclusion in the cast of characters is going the extra mile on mining Avatar lore. Her being mentioned alongside characters like Aang's enemy turned best friend Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu), General Zhao (Ken Leung), and Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim) sends a strong signal that she'll do more than just appear for a handful of minor scenes. That and her own source material potentially forming part of the show's basis, Avatar fans might see the heroic Airbender with a new voice of tutelage on Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action remake.