Avatar Studios has been at work for over a year now. We have the news of three movies currently in production. Only one story has been confirmed – a movie that follows more adventures of the original Team Avatar. Most fans and journalists are expecting one of the other two films will focus on Avatar Kyoshi. The third is still a mystery – guesses abound, including stories about a completely new Avatar.
Below are 10 of the Avatar Studios stories we want to see come to fruition. Not included below are storylines like Zuko’s search for his mother. That story was explored in the comics, and it’s something we definitely want to see come to the screen, but that’s one of the stories that might fall under the confirmed Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) characters movie (along with some of the other great comic stories). This was recently made more plausible by one of the Avatar Studios writers hinting the comics will influence many of the studio’s projects. The ideas below are not fully explored in either ATLA, Legend of Korra (LOK), or their related comics (or they have not been explored at all).
The Life and Afterlife of Uncle Iroh
We would love to see a series following Uncle Iroh from feared and ruthless general to the wise mentor for Zuko. They could spend several seasons exploring the dynamics of his upbringing, his greatness as a general, his failure at Ba Sing Se, his heartbreak when his son died, his saving the dragons and Sun Warriors, him joining the white lotus, and his afterlife in the Spirit World, etc. Iroh stole scene after scene in ATLA and we’d love to see him treated to a full series.
A Wildlife Documentary
Who wouldn’t want to watch a Planet Earth-style documentary showcasing the animals of the Avatar Studios world? What interesting facts and habits could the writers come up with for animals we have already seen, and what new fantastical combinations or completely new creatures could they create?
A Cabbage Merchant Mini-series
It would be great to see a mini-series that follows a day in the life of the cabbage merchant for each episode. Something light and fun, quick, and full of cabbages.
A Pro-Bending Movie
The sports we have seen in the two original series are some of the most interesting background stories and details we have seen. It would be great to be immersed in the drama, entertainment, and skill of using bending for sport. Perhaps a sports movie featuring an underdog pro-bending team learning to work together to change the game? A series could also explore the WWE-style Earth Rumble we saw in ATLA, airbending and waterbending races, airball, ice dodging, and other games and sports.
A Band of Thieves
An interesting idea for a movie or series could feature a gang of Robin Hood-esque thieves in a half-bustling, half-impoverished city (maybe Republic City or Ba-Sing-Se) who confound the story’s current Avatar by thwarting capture and by the inequity they point out. This could be a past or future Avatar – making it an Avatar we have not seen, perhaps near the present day, could be an excellent opportunity of social commentary on the conditions, politics, and systems of poverty in our own real world today.
A Troubadour’s Journey
We need something from the perspective of non-benders and non-fighters. A movie or series that follows a traveling musician as they explore the nations, forge connections, and showcase the music and dance of the Avatar world would be a fascinating way to see the lives of non-benders and dive into the music of the Avatar Studios world.
Origins of the Freedom Fighters
One of the most gut-wrenching stories from ATLA was that of Jet (I mean, he’s dead, right?). The full story of how Jet and the Freedom Fighters came to be needs to happen. We only got an explanation in ATLA, so a movie or limited series telling their tragic story up to the point where they meet Team Avatar would be captivating.
A 100 Year War Documentary
What happened while Aang was missing? We know the Fire Nation took over much of the world, but how did it happen? A Ken Burns-style documentary about what happened in the 100 years between when Aang disappeared and reappeared could tell us. The doc could feature stories about the soldiers from different nations, the loss of the airbenders, stories from the different home fronts, the early efforts to find where Aang went, the corruption of Wan Shi Tong’s library, and more.
Reconnecting to the Avatars
Is it even possible for an Avatar to reconnect to their previous lives after the events of LOK? Only one way to find out. We need the journey of an Avatar after Korra to try and reconnect to the past Avatars.
Alt-bending Stories
We have seen sandbending, bloodbending, swampbending, metalbending, and energybending. There is still much to learn about these alternative or combination styles of bending. Could some firebenders (or the children of firebenders and waterbenders) bend actual blood since both fire and blood are plasma? A series could focus on one or all of the existing alt-bending styles or a new one entirely. Mindbending? Lightbending? What other elements or seemingly intangible things could be bent and by whom? We’d love to find out.
Pop Culture Consumer 