The Gaang Is All Grown Up In ATLA Film First Look

Those eagerly anticipating news on the upcoming projects from Avatar Studios got their first taste of the future last week at CinemaCon. The Paramount panel showed attendees a first look at a grown up Gaang and revealed that we can expect the film to hit theaters October 10, 2025. (They had already announced the premiere date, but still. Nice to know it’s still on track!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The first look from the film, which you can see here (we’re not risking a takedown notice by embedding, sorry!), looks to be concept art showing the Gaang – Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, and Toph – as young adults. There is plenty of content to mine from the years post-Avatar: The Last Airbender and pre-Avatar: The Legend of Korra. They seem to be a bit younger than they appear in the flashbacks in TLOK, so most assume them to be in their 20s or 30s.

I do appreciate that they’ve chosen to craft an original story rather than simply adapt one of the arcs from the comics. (Although I wouldn’t say know to eventually getting one of those as well!) A big disappointment for fans is that Dante Basco (Zuko) seems to be the only original cast member who will be returning for the film. I suppose it makes sense, in that the characters’ voices will have changed as they got older. But a true reunion would have been amazing.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who, ever since the announcement of the creation of Avatar Studios, was hoping that new ATLA content would happen quickly. Isn’t it terrible that good entertainment takes time, and doesn’t just burst forth from a creator’s head, fully formed and ready to be consumed? 2025 is a long time to wait, but if it maintains the quality of the original, it will be well worth it. And in the meantime, fans can partake of all of the other content coming our way.

Fans of ATLA are currently living their best lives. Both ATLA and its sequel series, TLOK, are streaming on Netflix, thereby introducing a whole new crop of fans to the universe. Basco and Janet Varney (Korra) do an in-depth, episode by episode podcast featuring a bevy of special guests. A series of young adult novels is giving us a glimpse into the lives of past Avatars – first Kyoshi, now Yangchen. (The Legacy of Yangchen is out this July!) And there are two RPGs available now – tabletop RPG Avatar Legends and mobile RPG Avatar Generations.

And, hey, if you never got into ATLA, now is a great time to start!

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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