Avatar: The Last Airbender's showrunner says they purposefully set out to please fans of the original Nickelodeon series when making the Netflix adaptation... and, well, people who love Game of Thrones, too.
Ahead of the new outing's release later this month, Albert Kim described the live-action show as "a remix, not a cover", and that the team knew going in that it "couldn't just be for kids."
"Seasons 2 and 3 are a lot more mature in theme than, say, season 1 was," he recalled of the cartoon in a recent interview with IGN. "So for us, it was about striking that right balance, of making sure you were true to the DNA of the original. But at the same time, we had to make it a serialized Netflix drama.
"It had to also appeal to the people who are big fans of Game of Thrones so, it had to feel grounded and mature and adult in that way too. That's the tightrope that we have to walk."
"When it comes down to hitting the tone, I mean, we have the script, and then we're on set, and it's like, 'Let's do this version.' And then like, 'Okay, let's do sillier. Let's go even sillier. Okay, now let's pull it back,'" explained director Jabbar Raisani. "So we just made sure we had options that we could really choose from a range in post [production] versus like, 'Oh no, we now have this one. That's way too silly, and that's our only choice, so what do we do?' So just protecting yourself to make sure you can shape the tone."
Starring Gordon Cormier as the titular hero alongside Elizabeth Yu and Daniel Dae Kim, the show follows 12-year-old Aang as he learns to master all four elements – Water, Earth, Fire, and Air.
Alongside his newfound friends Sokka (Ian Ousley) and Katara (Kiawentiio), who just so happen to be members of the Southern Water Tribe, the youngster enlists the help of all kinds of allies and colorful characters on his "fantastical, action-packed quest", as the trio try to evade capture from Crown Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) and try to save their world from the ruthless Fire Nation.
Avatar: The Last Airbender premieres on February 22, and will consist of eight episodes. While we wait, check out our list of the best Netflix shows for some viewing inspiration.
