Dev Patel once referred to the film adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender as "a little bit sh*t." With the Nickelodeon animated series now streaming on Netflix and the highly-anticipated live-action remake heading there soon, the franchise has seen a resurgence in popularity. It's also caused many to remember the ill-fated The Last Airbender movie adaptation.
M. Night Shyamalan's 2010 live-action film based on the animated series was widely panned by most critics. The film was released two years after the animated series ended and was overall rejected by long-time fans for its miscasting and injustice to the story and characters. The movie was an adaptation of the show's first season, telling the story of siblings Katara and Sokka in a world that is divided into Earth, Water, Fire and Air nations. They meet Aang, who discovers he has the power to control all four elements. The movie was meant to be the first in a film trilogy, but was never continued. While the animated series became a success for its animation style, character diversity, and action sequences, the film failed to meet these expectations.
A video from 2015 resurfaced on Twitter this week of Patel signing autographs outside the Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of his film The Man Who Knew Infinity, when he revealed how he felt about one of his past projects. In the clip shared by user SnowChllld, Patel signs a fan's The Last Airbender merchandise, saying, "I'm sorry about this film. It was a little bit sh*t, wasn't it?"
This is not the only time Patel has expressed regret about being part of the film. Also in 2015, he told The Guardian, "It's hard promoting a film you didn't enjoy and don't fully believe in, and I felt bad. I felt sorry that I'd let these fans down, because I was a big fan of the cartoon it was based on growing up." Then, in 2016, he was a part of THR's Actor Roundtable and revealed, "I completely felt overwhelmed by the experience. I felt like I wasn't being heard." Patel, who played Prince Zuko in the film, went on to say he "saw a stranger on the screen that I couldn't relate to." All told, the actor has made it clear he wishes he hadn't been a part of the movie or at least that things had gone down differently.
With this reminder of just how poorly The Last Airbender was received, even by one of its stars, some are likely to be skeptical about the upcoming live-action reboot. However, in this case, original creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino have influence over the project as showrunners and executive producers, which means long-time fans can trust the show will hopefully do the series justice. It's hard to hear again about how much Patel disliked The Last Airbender, but hopefully those cast in the new adaptation will have a better experience.
Source: SnowChllld/Twitter