It all started on Nickelodeon, when the studio launched Avatar: The Last Airbender just over 20 years ago. The animated show mapped out Aang’s path to becoming the Avatar to unite all kingdoms. Aside from airbending, he mastered the other elements in each successive book (season), starting with water, then earth, and culminating with fire, where he ended the Fire Nation’s reign once and for all.
Although The Last Airbender wrapped in 2008, a live-action reimagining of the series is currently running on Netflix. It is also following the triptych framework and has thus far completed its water and earth seasons. The final season is expected to release next year.
The only other live-action Avatar depiction was M. Night Shyamalan’s interpretation of the initial arc, simply called The Last Airbender, which failed to gain recognition from nearly anyone who watched it in theaters during the summer of 2010. Because these non-animated renditions retell the same tale that was chronicled in the Nickelodeon cartoon, neither “remakes” are relevant when deliberating the chronology of Avatar media.
More importantly, we have an animated film that dropped on Paramount+ this past summer, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. This is a follow-up to the original show and features older versions of all of the main characters. During that story, the world is in a much better place because of Team Avatar’s heroism, but they must stop an ancient threat from dismantling the peace they have established.
Supplanting these Aang-centric narratives, a new Avatar ascends in The Legend of Korra. This animated series aired over a decade ago but takes place dozens of years after Avatar Aang. With heroes like Aang and Sokka deceased, there are mostly new personalities occupying The Legend of Korra, but long-term fans definitely appreciate the character continuity of Katara, Zuko, and Toph. Plus, a major player is Aang’s son Tenzin.
The Legend of Korra places more emphasis on the Spirit World and tasks Korra with hindering those who wish to cause imbalance or seek new powers and abilities for selfish gains. Like Aang before her, Korra extinguishes the flames of war and leaves a positive impact throughout the land.
That brings us to Paramount+’s latest animated show, Seven Havens. Again, pushing the storyline forward, this time by hundreds of years. Avatar: Seven Havens is infused with mystery from the very start, as it is told that a cataclysm occurred while Korra was the Avatar that left much of the world destroyed. Korra is blamed for the harsh lands that surround the seven remaining sanctuaries, leaving most inhabitants to label any Avatar as an enemy.
Knowing how courageous and caring Korra was, learning what truly happened is one of the anticipated topics that Seven Havens will likely dive into. More inquiries that will possibly be touched upon are if there really were no Avatars for hundreds of years and how two Avatars are now existing at the same time.
The core duo in Seven Havens are Pavi and Nisha, young earth benders who expeditiously come to two profound realizations—they are twins that were separated, and they are both simultaneously Avatars. This setup, in the first three episodes, is already committed to offering plenty of stimulating obstacles they must overcome and potential growth from the sisters, as individuals and as a unified pair.
After Seven Havens, Avatar’s content streak is set to continue with Avatar Kuruk: Wave of Chaos. This next animated show was unveiled during New York Comic Con and has hinted to take place before the original Last Airbender time period. Whether there will be a deeper connection to specific characters or plot points is yet to be seen. But either way, given the dedication and zeal that Avatar Studios is clearly incorporating in their new enterprises, it is enough to have fans excited about any upcoming project.
For now, Avatar: Seven Havens is scheduled to drop several chapters a week, every Friday in October, on Paramount+.
Add us as a preferred source on Google