Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Boss Explains Changes From the Original: Heightened Violence, Bumi Battle and More

variety.com:

Selome Hailu SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” now streaming on Netflix.

A cruel dictator grabs an enemy soldier by the wrist. The soldier’s eyes widen. He lets out a desperate shriek as his skin turns to a crisp — he’s being burned alive.

An ashen corpse drops to the ground, and the dictator moves on with ease, ready to discuss war tactics with his men. This scene takes place just five minutes into the premiere of “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” Netflix’s live-adaptation of the Nickelodeon series of the same name that was originally animated, widely acclaimed and, notably, made for children. “It was really important that we start that way,” says showrunner Albert Kim of the bold move to open his version of the story with such a stark image of Fire Lord Sozin’s (Hiro Kanagawa) brutality. “It’s a very clear signal that this isn’t a note-for-note translation.

It’s within the mythology of the original, so fans will know what we’re doing, but we’re going off in a slightly different direction.” The episode goes on to to depict the how the Hundred Year War began; the original series constantly nodded at the Fire Nation’s genocide against the Air Nomads, but it was never put on screen in such detail. “Showing the Southern Air Temple genocide sets the stakes for our world,” Kim says. “It’s one thing for a 12-year-old kid to say, ‘I have to stop the Fire Nation.