The Spinner Rack

If you are like me and was sorely disappointed at how poorly The Last Airbender film, directed by M. Night Shyamalan represented the animated show, then buck up because a sequel to the hit television series is in the works. The original series garnered 5.6 million viewers, was nominated and won awards from the Annual Annie Awards, the Genesis Awards, the primetime Emmy awards and a Peabody Award chronicled how Aang The Avatar, and his group of friends setting out to help him master the four elements so he can save the world from the evil Fire Lord Ozai and end the war with the fire nation.

The new series, titled The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra, was announced last summer at San Diego Comic Con by series creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It explains how Korra, a teenage girl from the southern water tribe has become the new Avatar and must learn airbending from Tenzin, the son of Aang and Katara. The series is set 70 years in the future and contains a stellar voice cast which was released last week, including:

KORRA voiced by Janet Varney
JINORA voiced by Kiernan Shipka
HIROSHI SATO voiced by Daniel Dae Kim
MAKO voiced by David Faustino
ASAMI voiced by Seychelle Gabriel
LIEUTENANT voiced by Lance Henriksen
BOLIN voiced by P.J. Byrne
TENZIN voiced by JK Simmons

Dante Basco, who lent his voice to Prince Zuko confirmed his return, via twitter stating that he will be giving voice to a different character related to Zuko in some way. The Legend of Korra is slated to be a mini-series originally at 12 episodes, but Nickelodeon ordered an additional 14 bringing that total up to 26. To me this shows how much faith they have in the new series to wash the bad taste of the film from the mouths of all the fans. The animation style is apparently the same as we get a look at the protagonist in action and is scheduled to begin airing on Nickelodeon in early 2012. The official synopsis of the show is below:

“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 teenage girl from the Southern Water Tribe named Korra (voice of Janet Varney).

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 (JK Simmons), Korra begins her airbending training while dealing with the dangers at large.