Netflix’s ‘Avatar’ Boss Says Making Live-Action Series After the Original Creators Left Over Creative Differences Was ‘Absolutely’ Daunting
variety.comZack Sharf Digital News Director “Avatar: The Last Airbender” creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino spent two years developing a live-action adaptation of the animated classic for Netflix before they shocked fans by announcing their exit from the project due to creative differences.
The decision left Albert Kim, best known as a writer on “Pantheon” and an executive producer on “Sleepy Hollow,” as the live-action series’ showrunner without the support of the franchise’s original visionaries.
He recently told Entertainment Weekly that it was “absolutely” daunting to stick with the show without them. “You’d have to be an idiot not to be intimidated a little bit,” Kim said. “My first reaction after ‘Hell yeah!’ was ‘Holy shit!
Do I really want to do this? Is there a way to improve upon the original?’ Whenever you tackle something that’s already beloved by millions of fans, you have to ask yourself those questions.” When Konietzko and DiMartino left the live-action show, they published an open letter explaining their decision in which DiMartino said they “couldn’t control the creative direction of the series.” “When Bryan and I signed on to the project in 2018, we were hired as executive producers and showrunners,” DiMartino wrote. “In a joint announcement for the series, Netflix said that it was committed to honoring our vision for this retelling and to supporting us on creating the series.
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