Season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender will follow in the footsteps of the first season's storytelling "condensing."
Each season of the animated Avatar series had twenty episodes, most of which followed their own adventures. When it came to the live-action show, the first season only had eight hour-long installments.
This led to many elements of the original storyline getting condensed, such as the combination and relocation of a handful of plot threads to the team’s stay in Omashu—meeting the Mechanist, Jet, Bumi, and venturing into the Secret Tunnel.
As one might imagine, these types of changes did not always land well with audiences.
[ Avatar Netflix Season 2: Dallas Liu Reveals His Big Hopes for Upcoming Episodes (Exclusive) ]
Season 2 Will Condense Original Avatar Storyline
Speaking with The Direct at Paleyfest 2024, Avatar: The Last Airbender Seasons 2 and 3 executive producer Jabbar Raisani confirmed that they will need to condense some of the original story as the Netflix show moves forward.
Raisani pointed out how their handling of Seasons 2 and 3 which will conclude the live-action series - will be "a lot like Season 1," which also means "some condensing" has "to take place:"
"I think it's a lot like season 1. There's a lot of content in the animated series. And we will be looking at all that content. But we don't have the number of episodes that we have in the animated series. So, certainly, there will be some condensing that has to take place."
While speaking to The Direct about the possibility of more original moments in Season 2 for his character, Uncle Iroh actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee shared that he "[does not] know how they’re going to remix the stories" going forward:
"I wish I could; I have no idea what they have planned for us... I know we're getting an opportunity to finish telling the story. Obviously, the animated series is going to be the template for us. But other than that, I don't know how they're going to remix the stories. Nobody tells me nothing. So I'm just gonna show up. And yeah, hopefully, we get a better, clearer sense of where we're going with that in the future. But right now, I have no idea what's going to happen."
While the original animated series has been finished for nearly two decades, the story of those characters will continue in a new animated film called Aang: The Last Airbender.
Currently, not many details are known about the project, but fans do know it will follow team Avatar as they are older following the events Avatar.
As for whether its story will have any influence on future episodes of Netflix’s The Last Airbender, Raisani admitted it will not, at least "not at this point:"
"No, not at this point. We are really looking at the animated series at what came before and less of sort of what they're currently doing on the new movies."
As for whether or not he would be interested in potentially adapting Legend of Korra for live-action, he firmly responded:
"Certainly, I'd be interested in anything that is in this universe."
[ Avatar 2025 Movie: Last Airbender Release, Cast & Everything We Know About Adult Aang Film ]
Remixing Season 2 Episodes Was Inevitable
When it comes to adapting the source material, condensing is unavoidable. Avatar: The Last Airbender fans shouldn't be surprised the same will be happening for Seasons 2 and 3.
Simply put, 20-minute bite-size adventures do not work well for the more extended episode structures of the Netflix show. If the original episode is a self-contained, isolated story, odds are it may not make the cut—or be weaved in with other plot threads.
Hopefully, at the very least, fan-favorite episodes such as the desert spirit library and how Appa got stolen can see the light of day in live action.
One thing that will make it notably more difficult to stick to the original episodes, though, is how behind on Aang’s bending lessons he is. Book 2 is all about him learning earthbending from Toph—however, in the live-action Last Airbender series, he hasn't even started lessons for waterbending.
The show is ahead of the game when it comes to Azula’s storyline, however, as she doesn’t originally appear until Season 2. That alone could save some episodes from the chopping block.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is now streaming on Netflix.
Read more about Avatar:
Avatar Star Dallas Liu Explains Zuko & Katara's Rivalry In Live-Action Show (Exclusive)
'It's Gonna Suck': Avatar Netflix Star Prepares Fans for Season 2 Conflict (Exclusive)
