THE LAST AIRBENDER Promo Poster and Character Headshots
Comments(40)
- By Venkman
For those of you excited for M. Night Shyamalan’s, The Last Airbender,The image above is for promotional purposes, but it gives us our first look at some of the characters applying their bending skills. Katara’s water bending is pretty cool.
Here is your first look at some of the characters from the movie such as Jackson Rathbone in the live-action film, in which he plays Sokka. Rathbone is probably best known for his role as Jasper in the Twilight series. Nicola Peltz as Katara, Dev Patel as Zuko, and Noah Ringer as Aang.
After that little Airbender teaser trailer that was released, I couldn’t help but see the potential for this live-action film. I really liked what I saw. Check out the picture of Sokka below and tell us what you think.
Source: lastairbenderfilm
so, in a movie based on a cartoon where every culture was representative of some kind of pacific/asian peoples, at least two of the cultures are white, and one is Indian? If the earth nation isn't asian, I'm gonna be pretty pissed.
I'm still on the fence about this movie. Once I see Aang smiling maybe I'll start to feel good about this movie.
What's up with the earthbender? That sure doesn't look like Toph which is extremely disappointing. One of the coolest things about Toph was that she was a small, blind girl whose personality was hard and unyielding making her an awesome earthbender.
@gazzafizza,
The Earth Kingdom will be represented by Asians.
They gotta keep them Asians in the background.
Asian stories are good enough for Hollywood,
just not Asian heroes.
@thestray
In a recent M.Night interview,
M.Night says he took out the "cheezy comedy" out and "grounded" the story.
So, it seems that Sokka won't be the comic relief and Aang won't be that innocent lovable kid.
@Adam
Toph doesn't make an appearance until the 2nd movie.
If you watched the tv series,
The Air Nomads are extinct by genocide,
half of the Water Tribe were wiped out,
the Earth Kingdom was ruled by a corrupt government,
and the Fire Nation are the evil villains.
In the live action movie,
The Air Nomads = Caucasian
The Water Tribe = Caucasian
The Earth Kingdom = Asian
The Fire Nation = Middle Eastern
WHY IS ANG WHITE? I DONT GIVE A SHIT WHAT ANY ONE SAYS ANG IS ASIAN! HES A MONK HE WEARS ASIAN CLOTHES, HIS NAME AINT BILLY HE DONT WEAR JEANS AND A LAKERS TEE-SHIRT STOP WHITE WASHING EVERYTHING HOLLYWOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! COUNT ME OUT
Dude…Aang is white in the cartoon. And not all Asians are dark skinned. and his character doesn't wear jeans and a Lakers T-Shirt…He will have a similar costume to the cartoon as far as I know
How is Aang white in the cartoon?
"I think it is possible that some readers never even notice what color the people in the story are. Don't notice, don't care. Whites of course have the privilege of not caring, of being "colorblind." Nobody else does."
- Ursula K. Le Guin
How is Aang white in the cartoon?
community.livejournal.com/racebending/71429.html#cutid1
seriously, why would they go and F up something that was so simple and easiest thing in the animations….
the water benders where from the poles or icy regions, so they ALL looked like Inuits/Eskimo…so wtf and htf would they make them caucasian it makes no sense. that's the equivalent of portraying any african in a movie by casting japanese.
*hint hint*
=/
I dont understand why people get so hot and bothered by "which race represents which tribe". You are all looking to be offended. Just enjoy the movie for what it is: a fun adventure flick. Good lord.
well if that's the case then the movie should be called something else then, because it currently shares the name of a story that it is not. If you're gonna make a movie based a story that has been told before, at least try and be true to it.
Do you honestly think the LOTR movies would of been as successful if it had just normal humans instead of hobbits. I really doubt people would of been saying "who cares, just enjoy the movie for what it is" or even something like Transformers, I guess no one would of cared if Optimus was coloured green and orange, right?
those are species, this is race. race is unimportant to the overall story, so why should it matter?
This is going to fail. Honestly, why even bother. What, they couldn't get the right ethnicity to represent the proper characters for this? Hardly anyone is going to watch this anyway. LOL!
@ethanpaur
How are we "looking to be offended"?
Ever since the cast was announced it was like a slap in the face.
How can you ignore a slap in the face?
The race of the character is just as important as the characters' age and gender.
@ryan
Race is very important when you have a community of fans that identified with the Asian characters of the animated series.
One of the main reasons of the show's success was that it was a refreshing departure of a predominantly white media.
This is the 21st century, Hollywood needs to change this casting practice.
If they still think that Caucasian heroes bring in more profit,
then not only do they offend the minority,
they insult the intelligence of the majority.
And if race is so unimportant,
then why did the creators of the show, Mike and Bryan,
spent so much time and money researching and developing characters
based on Asian and Inuit cultures?
In the pilot's commentary, one of them said that Katara was designed based on authentic Inuit characteristics.
And if there was a fantasy film based on African cultures,
where there was African architecture, martial arts, mythology, folklore, etc,
would it be important which race represents the heroes?
If they casted Caucasian actors/actresses as the heroes,
would you tell the African-American community that they are
"just looking to be offended"?
Fantasy films based on European Mythology have Caucasian heroes.
Fantasy films based on Asian Mythology should have Asian heroes.
Good point, Hashirama Senju. It is refreshing to come across someone on the web who actually spells out their argument and makes sense, rather than spew a load of meaningless crap, like most people.
SO RACE IS UNIMPORTANT SO SHOULD THEY CAST A BLACK ACTOR FOR SUPERMAN IF THE STORY IS GOOD?!?!?!? I THINK NOT THIS MOVIE IS BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT AANG IS ASIAN NOT WHITE!
…my point exactly.
So, you need everything spelled out for you?
The Asian names, fashion, diet, architecture, religion, philosophy, ideologies, martial arts, calligraphy, folklore, mythology and eating utensils was not enough for you?
So, by your logic, if they didn't say it out loud,
its ok for the live action movie to have Caucasian heroes
and make the villains look Middle Eastern?
And because of your "love" for this movie,
will you pay full price at the theatre
and further support this controversial casting practice
and this so-called "race war"?
caps mean your point is valid. also, you strike me as a racist.
I am a racist for saying that race is unimportant? I don't get it.
Everyone needs to calm down. I understand what each group is saying I definitely agree it is bad that people were cast incorrectly, I also understand why people don't think its a big deal, maybe its not a big deal maybe it is, Hollywood messes things up a lot, I know if I were auditioning for a part as a Norse viking against someone who wasn't in anyway close to Scandinavian I would definitely be upset if I didn't get that part. That being said race is an issue when it comes to the accuracy of a movie, but it in no way gives a person the right to call someone a racist on the internet due to a matter of opinion (people thinking ethnicity or race isn't a big thing in this show/movie) since no one said anything remotely close to real racism. Again. I am against the inaccurate casting but you have to look at it like this M.Night directed one good movie…. if this movie sucks for any reason (directorial and finished product wise) it will be because of M.Night not the acting.
there are my 2 cents on this matter
wasn't replying to you. you see, i was being sarcastic with my first sentence, and continued on to say more to the person. you know, the person talking in caps. the person i replied to.
Ok, no rude comments about who is playing who.
Noah Ringer looks good as Aang and is skilled enough to pull off the martial arts.
Dev Patel as Zuko looks good and while not as dark as in the animation, the scar looks good too (which was a fear from the first picture I saw.
Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz as Sokka and Katara?
Ok, clearly they do not have the completion of their Animated counterparts.
I think my big hope here is that we can see the great movie from the director of the Sixth Sense and Unbreakable while avoiding the fail director that did The Village…
The actors will be fine… it's the director that scares me.
And really… can't be as disappointing as X-Men Origins: Wolverine. (which I liked a little but all in all was not good)
Ok, no rude comments about who is playing who.
Noah Ringer looks good as Aang and is skilled enough to pull off the martial arts.
Dev Patel as Zuko looks good and while not as dark as in the animation, the scar looks good too (which was a fear from the first picture I saw).
Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz as Sokka and Katara?
Ok, clearly they do not have the completion of their Animated counterparts.
I think my big hope here is that we can see the great movie from the director of the Sixth Sense and Unbreakable while avoiding the fail director that did The Village…
The actors will be fine… it's the director that scares me.
And really… can't be as disappointing as X-Men Origins: Wolverine. (which I liked a little but all in all was not good)
My problem is not what the movie is showing.
Its what they are not showing.
Example?
Asian heroes.
You know, like the original source material.
I don't completely understand your second paragraph…
Are you saying you know a bunch of people with interracial parents?
Or are you saying that you know different races that practice Asian culture?
If so, what does that have to do with which race should represent the heroes of The Last Airbender?
And where are the "Caucasian Asian", "Caucasian Black" and "Black Asian" actors/actresses in this movie? Probably in the background as extras.
If the Avatar was African-American,
then we would know that in the casting process they practiced equal representation, they were looking for "any ethnicity",
and that they based the casting on talent.
Instead they specifically asked for Caucasians in the casting call sheets.
Edit: You should really make sure you are sure before clicking the delete button.
But, don't worry about it… my reply should give the readers the idea that you said that in order for the live action heroes to be represented by Asian/Inuit actors/actresses, you needed that characters to say, "Hi, my name is Aang, I was designed based on Shaolin Monks of China and the Monks of Tibet." or "Greetings, my name is Katara and my entire village is based on Inuit cultures like Native Americans." or "Hello, my name is Suki, the culture of Kyoshi Island is the same culture of Japan, from the name of the Island to the martial art of Aikido."
lol that's what I wanted… someone to say it's "The Asian names, fashion, diet, architecture, religion, philosophy, ideologies, martial arts, calligraphy, folklore, mythology and eating utensils…"
Hate to break it to ya boss but by that standard most of the Asians I know are Caucasian and I know a few Caucasians who are Black, and a few blacks who are Asian… So I guess if all you have to do to star in Avatar is have The Asian names, fashion, diet, architecture, religion, philosophy, ideologies, martial arts, calligraphy, folklore, mythology and eating utensils… Then by all rights the last Airbender should be black?
It's a damn good thing no one cares if the movie is going to be good or not.
EDIT: And dammit… they seriously need to make sure you are sure you want to delete a post before just scratching it.
Right. I can understand that. An expectation was set and now that is being altered.
At least the previews give the impression that it won't be another Dragonball movie.
I guess my thing is after seeing and hearing the actors. I think Aang and Zuko are cast perfect for the darker tone of the movie vs the cartoon.
After looking into it, it's Katara and Sokka that may have been poor choices.
That being said… WHERE IS UNCLE?
Uncle Iroh is going to be Shaun Toub,
that way the Fire Nation will be perceived as Middle Eastern,
instead of Japanese/Korean/Chinese like the original source material.
Saun Toub was casted for the role of Uncle Iroh.
Casting an Iranian actor to play the most memorable Fire Nation character
will definitely make the audience perceive the Fire Nation as Middle Eastern.
i will and here is how i started to watch it. My brother was watching sozins coment and it look really cool. but i didn't know what they were talking about so i look on nicktoonnetwork and it had avatar on. (this was a year later. And it was the forutune teller.) So i dicided to watch it. It was good. TO ME!!!! so now ive seen every episode of avatar, avatar extras, and played all games. I can prove it ask me any Qs and i will answer it perfectly.
thank you
Not exactly what I was expecting (or wanted) but I'll give it a chance. Maybe I can try to forget the actual series (which I love) and just watch it as a stand alone movie (but I doubt it)
i dont care if there are no asians in ths movie
quite frankly i dont think that race should be an issue
i'm just so glad that zuko wont be that fag jesse mcartney
gunna be an awsome movie!
Correction: Inuit aren't representative of "Native Americans". They're a distinct group from American Indians.
I don't think Toph even appears in the first season, so she probably won't be in the first movie.