Why it's so worrying that the original 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' creators are no longer in charge of Netflix's live-action show

• Two years ago Netflix announced a "reimagined, live-action" version of the beloved animated series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was in the works.
• After the live-action movie disappointed with a white-washed cast and lackluster action, fans were worried about the coming TV show.
• The one buffer to concerns was the fact that the original series' creators — Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko — were in charge of the new live-action show.
• But DiMartino and Konietzko announced Wednesday they were leaving the project, citing Netflix's "negative and unsupportive environment" for their vision.

Almost exactly two years ago, Netflix announced it was going to attempt the seemingly impossible: Create a live-action version of the beloved animated series "Avatar: The Last Airbender."

Nickelodeon's original three-season series, which ran from 2005 to 2008, was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Much to the relief of fans, DiMartino and Konietzko were going to be the showrunners and creators for Netflix's new series.

But now, that relief has been dashed away. In separate blog posts, DiMartino and Konietzko broke the news that they're leaving the Netflix production altogether. According to both men, their creative vision for the live-action "Avatar: The Last Airbender" series was not supported by Netflix.

"When Netflix brought me on board to run this series alongside Mike [DiMartino] two years ago, they made a very public promise to support our vision," Konietzko wrote. "Unfortunately there was no follow-through on that promise."

"We have complete respect and admiration for Michael and Bryan and the story that they created in the Avatar animated series," a Netflix spokesperson told Insider in an email. "Although they have chosen to depart the live action project, we are confident in the creative team and their adaptation."

This bodes very badly for fans of the original show, especially given the initial skepticism that was attached to an effort to bring such a complex animated series to life in a way that honored and improved-upon the original source material.

What changed in the last two years, and why is it so troubling to fans? Let's dig into the worrying signal of this announcement.

Why the original creators are leaving Netflix's show

Back when the live-action series was first announced, DiMartino and Konietzko released a joint statement saying they couldn't wait "to realize Aang's world as cinematically as we always imagined it to be, and with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast."

"Netflix is wholly dedicated to manifesting our vision for this retelling, and we're incredibly grateful to be partnering with them," the showrunners' statement continued.

"We are committed to honoring Bryan and Mike's vision for this retelling and are thrilled to support them on creating a live-action event series," Netflix's vice president of Kids and Family Content, Melissa Cobb, said in a statement.

Now, two years later, DiMartino published "An Open Letter to 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Fans" announcing that he and Konietzko had left the Netflix project earlier this summer.

"When Bryan and I signed on to the project in 2018 [...] Netflix said that it was committed to honoring our vision for this retelling and to supporting us on creating the series," DiMartino wrote. "And we expressed how excited we were for the opportunity to be at the helm. Unfortunately, things did not go as we had hoped."

Konietzko was more direct in his Instagram post about the departure.

"The general handling of the project created what I felt was a negative and unsupportive environment," Konietzko wrote.

Based on both men's statements, it sounds as if their general creative vision and direction for the series would not be honored by Netflix.

"I realized I couldn't control the creative direction of the series, but I could control how I responded," DiMartino wrote. "So, I chose to leave the project. It was the hardest professional decision I've ever had to make, and certainly not one that I took lightly, but it was necessary for my happiness and creative integrity."

"I will put my time, energy, and talents towards the projects that give me the most fulfilment, and where I am afforded trust and respect," Konietzko wrote.

One source told Insider that the development process over the last two years resulted in creative differences between DiMartino/Konietzko, Netflix, and others involved when it came to deciding "how best to adapt the animated series into the live action series."

The same source confirmed that the "Avatar: The Last Airbender" series is moving forward with Nickelodeon, Dan Lin, and his production company Rideback attached.

The first attempt at a live-action 'Avatar' adaptation went horribly awry

The original "Avatar: The Last Airbender" series is a complex, action-packed feat of animation. The show's core narrative is about a magical ability called "bending," which gives some people the ability to manipulate one of the four elements — air, water, earth, and fire.

Given the fantastical nature of this power, plus the show's broad scope of landscapes and environments shown as the main protagonists Aang, Katara, and Sokka travel the world, it would be incredibly difficult (and expensive) to pull off in live-action. (Think all eight "Harry Potter" movies, but with an even more intense run of action sequences and magic needed.)

In 2010, writer and director M. Night Shyamalan created a movie adaptation that covered the first season of "Avatar: The Last Airbender."

Not only did trying to cram 20 episodes worth of TV into a single movie prove to be a fruitless task, but fans were deeply let down by the lackluster action and visual effects. There was also a general somberness to the movie's tone, which was a departure from the balance of humor and childlike innocence that came with the original story.

Even more upsetting was how the movie (which was simply titled "The Last Airbender," likely to distance it from James Cameron's unrelated 2009 blockbuster hit "Avatar") white-washed the cast of characters. The "Avatar: The Last Airbender" series is set in a fantastical universe that works as an amalgamation of Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Inuit culture.

But Shyamalan's film had an almost entirely white cast, which is by far the most egregious mistake made in that first live-action attempt.

A TV-show adaptation had more potential, but if Netflix didn't want to follow the original creators' vision then our hopes are not high

In theory, the show would have been able to overcome some of the issues that plagued the movie, starting with a diverse cast.

As noted earlier, DiMartino and Konietzko's very first statement about the upcoming Netflix series specified they were eager to make a show with "a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast." In March of this year, Konietzko said the Netflix show was still in "development/preproduction," meaning they hadn't begun the search for a cast yet.

Without knowing who will now step in as showrunner for the Netflix adaptation, fans are back to square one when it comes to worrying that the TV show might revert back to whitewashing.

There's also a question of whether or not Netflix would be able to commit to giving the full original storyline a live-action format. The original show was 61 total episodes (each about 23 minutes long) across three seasons. A live-action adaptation that fully realizes the fantasy elements and world-building would cost potentially hundreds of millions of dollars.

For scope, think of the final two seasons of "Game of Thrones," which cost an estimated $100 million each. A significant portion of the VFX budget was dedicated to bringing massive dragons to life. In "Avatar: The Last Airbender," one of the most beloved characters is a six-legged flying sky-bison named Appa.

So even with DiMartino and Konietzko on board, there was skepticism around how a live-action version could adequately capture the majesty and storytelling of the animated series.

But now that they're gone, things feel bleaker than ever.

"And who knows? Netflix's live-action adaptation of 'Avatar' has the potential to be good," DiMartino wrote in his blog post. "It might turn out to be a show many of you end up enjoying. But what I can be certain about is that whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make."

Editor's Note: This article was updated to include a statement from Netflix as well as one source's confirmation that the series is moving forward.

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