Just keep it away from M. Night.Nickelodeon sets `Last Airbender' spinoff for 2011
(AP) – 2 hours ago
LOS ANGELES — A spinoff from Nickelodeon's "Avatar: The Last Airbender" is in the works.
The channel said Wednesday the new animated TV series will premiere in 2011. It has the working title, "The Legend of Korra."
Nickelodeon says the series will build on the "mythology" of the original "The Last Airbender" series, which inspired this summer's live-action movie from filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan (SHAH-muh-lahn).
The "Legend of Korra" is from the creator-producers of "Avatar: The Last Airbender."
Nickelodeon executive Brown Johnson says the new series will focus on a teenage girl avatar named Korra. Brown describes her as hotheaded, independent and "ready to take on the world."
"Avatar: The Last Airbender" has ranked among the highest-rate series on the Nickelodeon and Nicktoons channels.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
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BURBANK, Calif., July 21 /PRNewswire/ — Nickelodeon, the number one producer of television animation in the world, has greenlit a new series from the creators of the hit animated TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender, it was announced today by Brown Johnson, President, Animation, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. The new series The Legend of Korra (working title), from creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, will premiere on Nickelodeon in 2011, continuing the evolution of the animated franchise and its mythology. The original series was the inspiration for the Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies live-action epic adventure, The Last Airbender, which has already grossed more than $115 million at the box office to date.
“Mike and Bryan have imagined a compelling new story inspired by the Airbender mythology that they so brilliantly crafted when the TV series began,” Johnson said. “This new avatar is not only a girl, but also hot-headed, independent and ready to take on the world.”
The Legend of Korra takes place 70 years after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender and follows the adventures of the Avatar after Aang – a passionate, rebellious, and fearless teenaged girl from the Southern Water Tribe named Korra. With three of the four elements under her belt (Earth, Water, and Fire), Korra seeks to master the final element, Air. Her quest leads her to the epicenter of the modern “Avatar” world, Republic City – a metropolis that is fueled by steampunk technology. It is a virtual melting pot where benders and non-benders from all nations live and thrive. However, Korra discovers that Republic City is plagued by crime as well as a growing anti-bending revolution that threatens to rip it apart. Under the tutelage of Aang’s son, Tenzin, Korra begins her airbending training while dealing with the dangers at large.
Launched in February 2005, Avatar aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon and was ranked among the top five animated properties on television among boys, 2-11 and 6-11 (2005/2006). During this time, the series reached a total of 21.7 million total viewers (persons 2+), including 8.8 million kids 2-11 and 6.3 million kids 6-11*. Currently, Avatar: The Last Airbender is the number one program on Nicktoons among tweens. (Source: *Nielsen Cume Data – July 2008, Live + 7 day, 6 min. qualifier.)
Avatar: The Last Airbender was created and executive produced by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.
An award-winning filmmaker, DiMartino was a director at Film Roman for six years, working on the prime-time animated series King of the Hill, Family Guy and Mission Hill. During his tenure there, DiMartino animated and directed the short animated film Atomic Love, which has gone on to screen at festivals across the country including Sundance and the Los Angeles Film Festival. It also aired as part of the Nicktoons Network Animation Festival.
Konietzko began his career in animation as a character designer at Film Roman for Fox’s prime-time series, Family Guy. He soon moved to the post of assistant director for two more Film Roman shows, Mission Hill and King of the Hill, working beside animation director DiMartino. Konietzko then became a storyboard artist and later an art director for the Nickelodeon animated series Invader Zim.
The new Avatar series will be produced at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif., and is co-executive produced by Joaquim Dos Santos.
Nickelodeon, now in its 31st year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).
SOURCE Nickelodeon
story sounds sick......i like the whole steampunk thing. and def like aang and katara's son in it...if it is indeed aang and kataras son. it didnt say it was it just mentioned aang. it could be aang and tophs son lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZCO-xMYL4
In case you ever wondered why they engaged the services of Harmonious Fist and Sifu Kisu now you know.
This article is dated, but this thread needed an update...
March 8, 2011, 8:00 AM ET
‘The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra’: The Creators Speak
By Christopher John Farley
Nickelodeon
Korra, the hero of “The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra.”
Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the creators of “Avatar: the Last Airbender” are readying the next chapter in the animated saga, titled “The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra.” The new series is due out mid-2012 on Nickelodeon.
“Avatar” and “Korra” take place in a setting that feels as richly imagined as Middle-earth, Narnia or Hogwarts. In this world, some inhabitants are “benders,” each with the power to manipulate one of the elements–air, fire, earth or water–to their will. One person, the Avatar, has the ability to master all the elements–and thus bring balance to the land.
“This one is 70 years into the future and takes all the elements of bending from the first series and evolves it and takes it one step further,” Cyma Zarghami, President of the Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group, said of “Korra.”
Nickelodeon had picked up “Korra” for 12 episodes but recently decided to order 14 more shows. “When we first starting talking to Nickelodeon about doing a new series in the ‘Avatar’ world, they asked if we could do shorter arcs—more like a show like ‘24’where there’s a specific villain or challenge for that particular season,” Konietzko says. “We’re really happy with that number. It allows us to focus much more closely on each episode and get a lot more craft into it.”
Speakeasy talked to DiMartino and Konietzko about the follow-up series and what fans can expect.
“We have a lot of ideas for the ‘Avatar’ universe and who knows? We could be tapping into them for years to come,” Konietzko says.
The Wall Street Journal: How far along are you on the new series?
Michael DiMartino: We are in the midst of the first twelve episodes. We’ve written all the episodes. Episodes have shipped to the overseas animations studios and they’re animating away as we speak. So we’re kind of in the middle of things right now…All the vocal cast has been picked and recorded and all the scripts have been recorded.
Are you looking to win new viewers with the series or just satisfy fans of the old series who have grown up?
DiMartino: We want everyone to watch. Definitely fans of the first series will not be disappointed in this one. The tone is a little older, the characters are a little older than the first series—they’re teenagers. Korra is 16 so she’s older than Aang was. So I think maybe some people who weren’t into the first show might find this one and be into it.
Since the main characters are older, will there be more romance?
Bryan Konietzko: I thought Korra was 17 so Mike and I have to get our stories straight. The main characters are in their late teens, we’ve always loved those kind of teen love triangle type stories and there was plenty of that in the original series. We’re definitely getting into it in this series. The difference is these people have cars and motorcycles and things. There’s definitely a different dynamic. I’d say the show is more sophisticated than the original series but it has the same balance of tones we’ve always liked with humor, action, drama, scary stuff and romance.
Will characters from the first series show up in “Korra”?
Konietzko: Again it’s 70 years later so they’ll appear in various ways perhaps.
DiMartino: There is definitely a link to the old series and the old characters.
How did you change the look of the “Airbender” world?
Konietzko: In every way we’re trying to improve it. We’re not trying to change it so much that it’s unrecognizable and doesn’t feel like the same universe, but we are trying to update it, improve it, make everything just more sophisticated and appealing….It’s kind of like the show has grown up. A lot of the viewers have grown up since the show was last on.
Tell me about the heroine of the story, Korra. What’s she like?
DiMartino: Korra, we kind of describe her as a fiery waterbender. She’s very pugnacious. Kind of in your face. We wanted to create a new Avatar that was completely the opposite of Aang. So, whereas Aang was the peaceful, nomadic Airbender guy, she’s very tough, very headstrong, not scared to get into a fight, and kind of picks fights with people too sometimes. So she’s definitely totally the opposite of Aang so it has been kind of fun to write her character and put her in situations that Aang never would have gotten into.
Konietzko: It’s refreshing it’s totally different from Aang. But she’s also funny and has a lot of charm and vulnerability because she’s still growing up and trying to figure things out. We worked on that first series for more than six years and we love those characters but it’s great to be working with fresh ones with a new spin on the world.
Who is the main villain in Korra?
DiMartino: We have a great villain. He’s kind of an anti-bending revolutionary guy. Very scary dude. And definitely is quite a challenge for Korra.
Will you ever make a feature animated film?
Konietzko: On the original series we did our best to make it cinematic with a big immersive world. And on this series because it’s a tighter stretch of episodes–just 12 episodes–but Mike and I wrote all of them, there’s really no filler. We told almost as much story as the first series packed into these 12. So it’s getting even closer to something cinematic. So yeah, we would love to. We feel like we’re kind of movie guys working in TV. So we’re looking forward to that day when we get to work in that medium.
Have you heard anything about whether there will be a sequel to the “Last Airbender” live-action feature film?
DiMartino: Uh, no. It’s definitely not up to us, so.
Will we find out what happened to Zuko’s mom?
DiMartino: That question will be answered in some way, but not necessarily in the show. That’s all I’ll say.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart
To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
-Patanjali Samadhi
"Not engaging in ignorance is wisdom."
~ Bodhi
Never miss a good chance to shut up
******!
I can't watch youtube! I absolutely love Avatar. I've been looking forward this one for a while.
It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand. - Apache Proverb
It's clipped. Go straight to the source - a Nickelodeon platform - for the complete vid.
Speaking of sources, thanks for the update, Lokhopkuen. Very cool.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart
My pleasure brother it looks to be very exciting indeed
Here is a better clip, that Nick page isn't coming up in my browser.
Also I think the MMA Guys will be happy about this one in this clip we used some MMA reference along with some Aerobatic Martial/ Parkour tricking. Enjoy
Last edited by Lokhopkuen; 07-25-2011 at 02:26 PM.
To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
-Patanjali Samadhi
"Not engaging in ignorance is wisdom."
~ Bodhi
Never miss a good chance to shut up
kool. my kids will luv it.
First of all, the trailer looks great! I can hardly contain my excitement. When does it start?
Also, nice to see Mac Danzig in the mix for the reference shots. As a vegan, Mac is a personal favorite of mine in MMA.
http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/The_Las...egend_of_Korra
The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra
General Information
Created by
Michael Dante DiMartino
Bryan Konietzko
Episodes
26 (planned)
Production Information
Company
Nickelodeon Productions
The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra (originally Avatar: Legend of Korra) is an upcoming American television series set in the Avatar universe as a spin-off of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was expected to air on Nickelodeon in mid-2012,[1] but no concrete air date has been given. The series is currently under production, and is expected to run for 26 episodes.