Fans have waited to see how M. Night Shyamalan, known for his suspense films, would handle his adaptation of
The Last Airbender, based on Nickelodeon cartoon
Avatar: The Last Airbender. Well, some of their fears can now manifest in debates about the casting, since Shyamalan and Paramount have told
Entertainment Weekly about the youngsters who have been cast in the film.
The group is mainly made up of relative unknowns, although expect them to receive the same kind of attention that Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Glint and Emma Watson did when they were announced as the leads of the
Harry Potter franchise. Taking the role of Aang, the titular Airbender, is karate star Noah Ringer, who was discovered in an open casting call in Texas. Rounding out the trio are
Twilight's Jackson Rathbone as Aang's friend Sokka, with Nicole Peltz (
Deck the Halls) will take the role of Katara, Sokka's sister and a Water Bender.
It was also announced that Jesse McCartney is in negotiations for the role of Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, the chief opponent of Aang.
The Last Airbender tells the story of the successor to a long line of Avatars who must put aside his irresponsible ways and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations. Based on the animated series
Avatar: The Last Airbender, the film is targeted to hit theatres on July 2, 2010.
24 Comments
Jesse isn't a bad choice either. Imagine his head shaved, with a long tony-tail in the back, and the left side of his face covered with burn scars. Who wouldn't want to see that?
And for the record, this will be Night's first adapted film. It's not his story. So you Night haters chill. He's working close with the original creators. If Night does this Trilogy right, it will do for his career as LOTR did for Peter Jackson's. It won't be as adult oriented as LOTR was, but its epic proportion ought to be enough to attract the crowds, and, appease them.
Oh yeah, and Night is already writing the second screenplay right now, even though pre-production has just barely started for the first.
Please Hugh Jackman as Commander Zhao. But they have to change a few names because Chinese names, white people, it doesn't look good.
I like Noah Jackson i hope his funny enough to play Sokka
for Katara i have (Cory in the House) Maiara Walsh
and for Zuko i dont like the idea of Jesse McCartney
bob hopkins as uncle iroh and benicio del toro as his brother the fire lord ozai
TPOJ, I am always for Hugh Jackman, he is my favorite actor of all time. I could watch him sitting reading a phone book for two hours, LOL.
EDIT:
pictures here---
http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/12/10/first-look-the-cast-of-the-last-airbender/
Anywho, have no idea who those people are - it would really be nice if MovieWeb could place some pictures in here... you know, a quick google search wouldn't make it that hard for them...