'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Season 2: Release Date Speculation, News, Cast, and More!

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The long-awaited live-action series adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender finally premiered on Netflix and a renewal quickly followed. Given the reception of the series since its debut, news of the renewal was unsurprising. And, with two more seasons, this would also allow the show to conclude with a bang.

Here’s what we know so far about Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2. Possible spoilers ahead for the first season.

Photo Credit: Netflix

Avatar: The Last Airbender Is Returning for Season 2

Avatar: The Last Airbender was renewed for two more seasons by Netflix. The show is the live-action adaptation of the animated series of the same name. It follows an airbender named Aang, who goes on the journey to become the Avatar, the only one capable of mastering all four elements. Aang’s emergence comes at a time when the Fire Nation seeks to dominate the Earth and Water Nations after decimating the Air nomads.

Renewing the show for two more seasons would give Avatar: The Last Airbender space to conclude properly. Two weeks after its premiere on Netflix, the show was the no. 1 English-language series, gaining 41.1 million views in 11 days. It was also no. 1 in 76 countries and in the Top 10 most-watched in 92 countries.

“I really thought it was really clever of the writers to end Season 1 in that way because you want to get a sense that the universe of the show is expanding with every season,” Daniel Dae Kim told Tudum in February. “And they really did a good job of that with that cliffhanger and also created a sense of urgency and time.”

“Always leave the audience wanting more,” said Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who plays Iroh. “I just had chills seeing Lizzy as Azula. You’ve got King Bumi in shackles, and it’s just like, ‘Oh, there’s so many cliffhangers.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I want to shoot Season 2, 3 right now.”

Albert Kim serves as the showrunner for Avatar: The Last Airbender. Kim also executive produces alongside Jabbar Raisani and Michael Goi. Dan Lin and Lindsay Liberatore were executive producers during Season 1 on behalf of Rideback. Raisani, Goi, Roseanne Liang, and Jet Wilkinson directed the episodes, with music by Takeshi Furukawa.

Photo Credit: Netflix

Who Will Return for Season 2?

For Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2, we can expect most of the main cast to be back. This includes Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as the water-bender Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, and Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko. Also returning are Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh, Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula, Utkarsh Ambudkar as King Bumi, and Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai.

Fans are now looking forward to seeing who might be cast as the fan-favorite Earth bender Toph. But as the show has only recently been renewed for another season, fans will have to wait and see who else will be cast in other major roles.

What Happened in Season 1?

Season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender closely followed the first season of the animated series. In an interview with Variety, showrunner Albert Kim explained why the live-action series began with a show of Fire Lord Sozin’s cruelty along with the genocide of the Air Nomads.

“It was really important that we start that way,” said Kim. “It’s a very clear signal that this isn’t a note-for-note translation. It’s within the mythology of the original, so fans will know what we’re doing, but we’re going off in a slightly different direction.”

“Showing the Southern Air Temple genocide sets the stakes for our world,” said Kim, referring to the premiere showing how the Air Nomads were wiped out. “It’s one thing for the 12-year-old kid to say, ‘I have to stop the Fire Nation. It’s another to see what the Fire Nation did to his home, his family, and everyone he loves.”

Kim also explained why Fire Lord Sozin declares his intention to decimate the Air nomads before a new Avatar emerges.

“This is getting deeper into the mythology than most viewers will know, but there’s usually a gap in time between when an Avatar dies and a new one is born. And there’s a period of time before they are old enough to become the Avatar – typically, they’re told when they’re 16. Sozin is making a calculated gamble as to the window of time he needs to take over the world. There will be a new, reincarnated Avatar, but he’s got time, if he kills this current one, to go on and conquer the world. It’s a tomorrow problem. That’s getting into Sozin’s head a little bit – and whether or not that’s a sound strategy is up for debate. Avatar scholars can debate that,” said Kim.

What to Expect in Season 2?

Because the first season closely followed the animated series, it wouldn’t be any different in Season 2. However, one major change the live-action adaptation made was to introduce Azula as early as the first season. This may mean Azula would have a bigger role moving forward into the next two seasons. Of course, fans are also expecting Toph to make her live-action debut.

In the interview with Variety, Kim stressed how they wanted to emphasize the stakes in the world of Aang. Kim explained how they wanted to set the stakes rather than target an older audience compared to the animated series.

“One of the things we wanted to do was show how dangerous bending can be. Firebending should feel dangerous; it should feel like something that could hurt you. Also, as fans know, the tone of the original series starts shifting in the later seasons. It gets to some pretty dark places, so we had the benefit of hindsight. We knew that the fans understood where the show could go, so we were able to just start off in that place. And I will say, if you watch the rest of the season, I don’t think we go much farther than that. But the most important thing for us, always, was to feel true to the spirit of the original. Every choice we made was run by that litmus test: Does this feel like ‘Avatar?’” said Kim.