Summary

• The first trailer for Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender showcases the show's fidelity to the source material, with improved characters, locations, and set design.
• The trailer reveals that the show is not afraid to make necessary changes and additions to enhance the original story and expand upon it.
• The inclusion of a scene depicting the Fire Nation attacking the Air Nomads adds depth to Aang's story and emotional journey, without altering the spirit of the original series.

Netflix's The Last Airbender show already looks to be a significant improvement over M. Night Shyamalan's attempt at translating the world of Avatar onto film in 2010.

However, despite the fidelity to the source material that is clearly evident in Netflix's The Last Airbender, the first trailer made it clear that the show is not afraid to make changes where necessary. All good adaptations make changes in the form of additions; new plot points or expanded elements that only bolster what made the original show, book, or film being adapted so beloved. With that in mind, one key scene found in Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender highlights one of these additions that the original animated show never got to include.

Netflix's The Last Airbender Trailer Shows The Fire Nation Attacking The Air Nomads

The addition in question is the scene found at the beginning of Netflix's The Last Airbender trailer which showcases a large-scale battle. This battle seems to be being waged between the Fire Nation army and a group of Airbenders. Considering Aang is the titular Last Airbender during the show's story, it stands to reason that this scene is the initial attack on the Air Nomads by the Fire Nation that began the Hundred Year War.

The original show often makes mention of this. Fire Lord Sozin began the conquest of the Fire Nation by attempting to kill the Avatar. Knowing the Avatar would be born into the Air Nomads, Sozin committed mass genocide against their people and attacked all four temples. This resulted in Aang being known as the Last Airbender and marks a significant point in the show's history, Aang's story, and his character's emotional journey. Despite this moment’s importance, it is only ever told and not shown in the original story. With Netflix’s adaptation, it seems the Fire Nation’s attack on the Air Nomads will be shown in its entirety.

Why Netflix's Last Airbender Addition Is A Good Sign

While making changes to beloved source material is often frowned upon, especially in the case of a show as beloved as The Last Airbender, this is undoubtedly a good sign. The reason for this comes from the fact that this scene can not be classified as a change, but instead an addition to the original story. Adaptations are often at their best when making additions that enrich the original story being adapted, something that was exemplified at length by HBO's The Last of Us in 2023, for example.

In simply making additions to the original story, characters, world, or lore, Netflix's The Last Airbender seems to be bolstering what made the original show so great, as opposed to making needless changes that alter the spirit of the original story. The latter was seen as length in 2010's The Last Airbender movie with drastic alterations being made to the original show to minimal effect. This time though, it seems Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender is being incredibly faithful to the original animation only with necessary additions that only enrich the world, characters, and story of Aang's battle against the Fire Nation.