No my friends this isn’t a cactus juice hallucination. Nickelodeon has launched Avatar Studios, a new division that will create series and movie projects based on the beloved animated show and its successor, The Legend of Korra. Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko will serve as co-chief creative officers of the new venture, reporting to Nickelodeon Animation president Ramsey Naito. The first project for Avatar Studios is an animated feature film set to begin production later this year, with additional details to be announced. If you’ve been reading my work for awhile chances are, you know by now how much of a major fan I am of everything and anything relating to the world of Avatar. When Avatar plus The Legend of Korra joined Netflix last year saw that immense surge of popularity, as a long-time fan I was over the moon. But this news? I might just go into the avatar state.
ViacomCBS Kids & Family president Brian Robbins stated,
Avatar: The Last Airbender and Korra have grown at least tenfold in popularity since their original hit runs on Nickelodeon, and Ramsey Naito and I are incredibly excited to have Mike and Bryan’s genius talent on board to helm a studio devoted to expanding their characters and world into new content and formats for fans everywhere..Creator-driven stories and characters have long been the hallmarks of Nickelodeon, and Avatar Studios is a way to give Mike and Bryan the resources and runway to open up their imaginations even more and dive deeper into the action and mythology of Avatar as we simultaneously expand upon that world and the world of content available on Paramount+ and Nickelodeon
Avatar Studios will debut its content onViacomCBS’ SVOD service Paramount+, which debuts March 4th; as well as on Nickelodeon’s linear and digital platforms as well as third-party outlets and in theaters. Just in case you’re wondering Netflix’s live action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender is still active, despite the fact the original show’s creators stepped away from the project in August 2020. Does anyone have a Paramount+ account they’re willing to share? Will you be tuning in?