Star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee reveals Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender episode count and runtime as production continues on the series. The Kim's Convenience and Mandalorian alum stars in the upcoming show as Iroh, a retired Fire Nation general who accompanies his nephew Zuko on his journey to capture the titular hero. Unlike his tyrannical younger brother, the Fire Lord Ozai, Iroh takes a more nurturing and wise approach to caring for his nephew in the hopes of guiding him to be a better person than his father.
Based on the animated Nickelodeon series of the same name, Avatar: The Last Airbender centers on Aang, the titular 12-year-old protagonist as he is awakened from being frozen in ice for a hundred years and sets out on a journey to restore peace to the world as the Fire Nation embark on a quest for domination. Alongside Lee, the cast for Netflix's live-action adaptation includes Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio Tarbell as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Zuko, Elizabeth Yu as Azula and Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai. Following a rocky development cycle, Avatar: The Last Airbender finally began moving smoothly in mid 2021 with production kicking off in November and now one of the stars behind the series is sharing new details for the project.
While guest appearing on the Handsome Genius Club Radio Show, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee opened up about Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series. When asked about what's to come from the series, the actor confirmed that season 1 will run for eight hour-long episodes and described it as a very "expensive" undertaking. See what Lee shared below:
"It's eight episodes, one-hour each, I have no idea when it's going to be airing. My best guess, at the earliest, would be end of this year."
In both the lead up to production and all throughout filming, Lee has been one of the most outspoken advocates for Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Much like during his time on The Mandalorian, the star has used both social media and interviews to share a number of behind-the-scenes teases from the upcoming adaptation to keep audience anticipation high. He's also spoken out about how the decision to make the new live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender a series instead of a movie was ultimately the better one in an effort to keep the story as intact as possible.
Though some audiences still have a bad taste in their mouths from M. Night Shyamalan's critically derided feature, most would agree with Lee that a live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series sounds better than another watered down movie. With the star confirming that season 1 of Netflix's show will be eight one-hour episodes, some may take issue in it still falling short of the animated series' 10-hour runtime, but should still find it comforting that it will hew as closely to the source material as possible. While audiences await the premiere date announcement for the Netflix series, they can catch up with the original Avatar: The Last Airbender streaming now.
Source: Handsome Genius Club Radio Show