New casting for the Netflix adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender suggests that the Kyoshi books will be covered to some extent. With how popular the Kyoshi duology of The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi have been, many have wanted them to be adapted in some way, especially with Avatar Studios poised to present a slew of new Avatar projects. Recent news about the Netflix series suggests that that might be happening sooner than people might have expected.
More cast members for the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender have been revealed, and the casting includes Suki, Suki’s mother Yukari, and Avatar Kyoshi, to be played by Maria Zhang, Tamlyn Tomita, and Yvonne Chapman, respectively. Avatar: The Last Airbender's Suki being cast makes sense since she appears early on in Book 1, and while she didn’t exist in the original series, giving Suki a mother in Yukari is a reasonable change to the story, especially if it will expand on Suki’s character. Avatar Kyoshi’s casting is more surprising, though, as she originally didn’t make a physical appearance until Book 2 and only had a handful of appearances in the series, as a whole.
All of the new casting decisions could suggest that the upcoming adaption of Avatar: The Last Airbender will cover the Kyoshi duology to some degree. Avatar Kyoshi already being cast likely means that her character will be expanded on, and with the Kyoshi duology providing a great amount of material about her character and history, it would make sense for the series to draw on them. Some of the other castings also give credence to that idea.
The fact that Suki is a Kyoshi Warrior means that she would naturally have knowledge of Avatar Kyoshi; as such, Suki could be used as a means of relaying to both the characters and the audience information about Avatar Kyoshi. There’s also the fact that her mother is going to be named Yukari, which is a distinctly Japanese name. While the world of Avatar takes influence from a wide variety of Asian cultures and aesthetics, the part that draws the most from Japan is undoubtedly the Avatar series' Fire Nation, with many aspects of its visual aesthetic, history, and overall characterization taking cues from Japanese history to various degrees. As such, that could mean that Yukari, and by extension, Suki, could be tied to the Fire Nation in some way. Mako and Asami from The Legend of Korra are two characters with Japanese names who have Fire Nation ancestry, so there’s already a precedent for it.
The reason that would be relevant is because of Rangi, Kyoshi’s girlfriend from the Kyoshi duology. Not only was Rangi from the Fire Nation, but her fighting style was used as the basis for the fighting style of Avatar's Kyoshi Warriors, meaning that the group has had ties to the Fire Nation from its conception. Yukari could have her name as a means of showing the connection her people have to the Fire Nation through Rangi, and if that ends up being the case, it would be an easy means of leading into the show’s own adaptation of the books. The Last Airbender's Kyoshi duology has been one of the most welcome additions to the franchise for its expansion on the lore and for being a darker and mature look at the series. Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series adapting them in any way would be more than welcome.