The Legend of Korra is HERE

[ravenous215]

By Christopher John Farley

Nickelodeon

Image from the coming series “The Legend of Korra.”

Nickelodeon has announced a new series from the creators of cartoon epic “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

The new show from Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko has the working title of “The Legend of Korra” and will premiere on Nickelodeon in 2011.

A live action theatrical movie based on the cartoon series called “The Last Airbender” was released earlier this summer to pans from critics and better-than-expected box office. The movie was directed by M. Night Shyamalan (”The Sixth Sense”), who has expressed interest in doing a sequel. Paramount, the studio behind the film, is watching the movie’s international grosses before making firm plans about any follow-ups.

The world of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is one in which there are four nations–Air, Water, Earth and Fire–each with “benders” capable of controlling the elements. In the first series, a young airbender named Aang is revealed to be the Avatar, someone capable of manipulating all four elements, and prophesied to help save the world. “Avatar: The Last Airbender” debuted on Nickelodeon in 2005 and aired for three seasons.

Nickelodeon said in a release that “The Legend of Korra takes place 70 years after the events of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ and follows the adventures of the Avatar after Aang – a passionate, rebellious, and fearless teenaged girl from the Southern Water Tribe named Korra.”

Korra’s quest eventually leads her to Republic City–the epicenter of the world of “Avatar.” A metropolis powered by steampunk-type technology, the city is inhabited by people from all nations. Korra finds that Republic City suffers from rampant crime and is also dealing with an anti-bender revolt. Korra is tutored by Aang’s son, Tenzin, is the ways of airbending.

How does the new series sound to you? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Comments

[boundbooks]

THIS SOUNDS TOTALLY AWESOME!

[nextian]

OMFG. I wasn't that excited and then I saw Korra's build. Just -- look at her! Lookin' all determined and muscly and horse-stance! DEFINITELY THE AVATAR. I'm going to go ahead and pretend that she's one of Toph's many love-children, scattered all over the world, because I can.

[such_heights]

... I think I shall subscribe to this newsletter! :D

[dragovianknight]

If she is HALF as awesome as Toph, the series will be worth watching!

[boundbooks]

Speaking of Toph and thus earthbending, I am totally interested as to what the plot line will unfold to be. They've definitely thrown my expectations for a loop by stating that Korra will already know three of the elements.

Although, I suppose that was the best way to do it, considering that Aang was supposed to be this glaring exception to The Way Avatars Are Supposed To Be Trained!

[boundbooks]

You know, I kind of wonder if maybe she's a descendant of Sokka?

Something about the set of those shoulders reminds me of him and Katara, and she's of the right age to be Sokka's great-granddaughter. And the Southern Water Tribe was hella-small (even if some Northern Water Tribe showed up) by the end of The Last Airbender, so great-grandchild might not be too far-fetched!

[djkittycat]

Great granddaughter? It's only 70 years later! Are people having babies at age 11?

[boundbooks]

I think you're right, I forgot to account for Korra's age when I did the math. I was actually just kind of cramming in math via assuming that most people in this world would have children at age 20, and I forgot to account for the fact that Korra's about 15/16 when I did the 70/20 count. So, that would make her probably a granddaughter! :)

[crossedwires]

Yes! I had the same thought re her being one of Toph's descendants. Though I also like the idea in another comment of her being one of Sokka's grandkids.

[feanna]

Well, there's no reason she couldn't be both. ; )

One of Sokka's (grand)kids getting it on with one of Toph's? Not impossible.

[dancing_serpent]

I wasn't that excited and then I saw Korra's build.
Oh yeah, same here. Nice, powerful back(side).

[softestbullet]

SQUEE.

[jaebility]

This is AWESOME!

[inkstone]

I LOVE HER BACK.

[carnivorousgiraffe]

I AM AT WORK AND CANNOT PROPERLY EXPRESS MY GLEE AND IT IS PAINFUL. BUT. EEEEEEE! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Also, I love how half the reactions are "I love her build/body/back!" Especially since that was my first thought (well, second after OMG IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING) and I'm so happy there are other people who are just excited to see different and awesome body types.

[glass_icarus]

SD:FKJSD:LFKJS:DLKJG:SLDHKF *\o/*!!!!!!

[beccastareyes]

How does the new series sound to you? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Friggen awesome. I do want to see this, as well as to know about this new setting and The Future and Korra and Tenzin and what the 70 years between 'everyone has tea in Iroh's tea shop in Bah Sing Sei' and that picture above was like.

[polarisnorth]

Oh my god oh my god EEEEEEEEE. She looks like such a BAMF! I absolutely cannot wait for this.

[schattenstern]

I have yet to stop making squeeful noises! (If possible, it got worse when I stumbled over not only the general announcement but the little summary. WANT!)

Joining the chorus of people who love her build & stance in the picture, eeeeeeeeee! ♥ ♥ ♥

[miss_haitch]

SO. DAMN. EXCITED. ♥♥♥

[yasaman]

Oh wow, that is gorgeous. I am so excited for this now!

[cofax7]

Ooooooh.

Looks awesome. If it's half as great as that art, I'll be really happy.

[dorkpie]

She looks so kick-ass. :D I wasn't looking forward to it before, but now I find myself so eager for 2011.

[gelasius]

MY GLEE CANNOT BE TEXTUALLY RENDERED.

More coherently, I think it's a smart choice to set the sequel several generations along, instead of trying to continue Team Aang's story -- not that there aren't more stories to be told with them, but the world has such rich potential that I'm excited to see where they go with the new generation. And now in the new series the protagonists and adventures of the first series will be the legendary heroes and stories that everyone knows. :P

Wooooot.

[nan]

OH THIS LOOKS AWESOME. GOD HER BAAACK, SHE LOOKS SO STRONG AND DETERMINED AND AWESOME.

Although if she's the Avatar, that means Aang is dead. And this makes me sad. BUT AANG'S SON. :D

This new series sounds awesome, omg. ♥

[jibrailis]

WHOA. *throws happy hands in air*

[reflectedeve]

I am unbelievably excited for this, omg. :D I echo what everyone has said here about her build! And I'm excited that she's from the Southern Water Tribe - whether she's Sokka's descendant or not, I'm pleased that they rebuild and produce not only benders but an Avatar, after being so decimated in the previous series. I'm psyched to see the new developments with worldbuilding, particularly a mixed-nation/bender society, and damn, does the scenery in that picture look gorgeous.

I'm especially curious about Aang's son/the future of the airbenders. I've always been a little perplexed about the organization of their society, and I'm hoping we'll get some detail there. (I mean, the other three nations all had big populations of non-benders, but the Air Temples seemed to be benders-only, and heavily skewed towards male populations. Where are/were the rest of their people?)

Also, I'm hoping for some fantastic flashbacks of the previous cast's lives and legacies!

[pseudo_tsuga]

I LOOK LIKE THE FROTHING MAN RIGHT NOW.

[dancing_serpent]

Yay! This so needed iconing.

ETA: I simply couldn't resist. *g*

[wembley]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :DDDDDDDDDDD

[twtd]

YES PLZ!!!!!!!!!!!!

[holyschist]

OH MY GOD THIS IS THE FIRST I'VE HEARD OF THIS AND I CANNOT STOP CAPSLOCKING WITH UTTER JOY.

(OMG, maybe Toph is still around as a little old lady of terrible might!)

[boundbooks]

I think she would make a great Queen of Omashu! It would have been super-awesome if Bumi made her his heir, and goodness knows that she's got the brains and the practicality to do the job.

It has also been pointed out elsewhere that Aang died wicked early for an Avatar:

12+70-(16?) = 66

Kyoshi lived to 230 and Roku only died at 70 due to treachery. Aang dying at 66? Something must have happened...

*speculate speculate speculate*

[holyschist]

Oh, gosh, Toph the eccentric queen would be so awesome! I'm not sure she'd have the patience, though.

I had been thinking about Aang's life expectancy prior to the announcement, and I bet there would be folks in the Fire Nation who were very unhappy with the new way of things. The Avatar might not be beatable in a fight, but poison? And if it were fast-acting enough, Katara wouldn't be able to heal him.

[boundbooks]

The poster below suggested that maybe the combo of 100 years in ice + Azula's lightening strike had something to do with it, which sounds like a good idea to me.

I mean, even though Katara revived him, that lightning strike must have done an incredible amount of damage to Aang, possibly taking years off his lifespan.

[holyschist]

Oh, yeah--and didn't he basically impale himself on a rock? (It was never clear to me how that unblocked his chi.)

[boundbooks]

I'm totally rusty on season three, so I don't recall. But, yeah, Aang has really taken an epic amount of damage before he was even thirteen.

Now that I think about it, the majority of the other Avatars would have been masters of all four elements for over a decade and at least in their mid-twenties before they got in a fight for their life.

Aang was a twelve year old with one element and a very basic understanding of the others (and only three at the time of the lightning strike) while he was trying to do the job.

[holyschist]

Yeah, I definitely got the impression from the flashbacks that the other Avatars didn't take nearly as much damage.

I kind of wonder about Zuko's life expectancy, too, given how hard Azula fried him.

[feanna]

There could also be the considerarion of what being in the avatar-mode costs, especially so (I assume) realative often and also at such a young age.

[tephra]

Aang's premature death... maybe a result of the 100 years in ice and the lightning strike? The latter, in particular, did a significant amount of damage.

[boundbooks]

I like this idea, especially the lightning strike! I mean, it think it was implied that he was clinically dead when Katara did her glowy hand thing, like heart attack victims are dead but can sometimes be revived.

[tielan]

I haven't even seen the ATLA series (it's on my list of 'when this mad season is over, I shall vacation with enough DVDs to squish Jabba the Hutt and you shall not peel me away from the TV screen unless there's a beach and margaritas involved') and I'm squeeful!

(Do you know if it will show on, say, Australian Nickelodeon? My parents have it! I could TiVo it!)

[instantramen]

I want to de-age just so I can have the chance to want to be Korra when I grow up.

[copracat]

*WANTS*

[topaz_eyes]

I am so excited!

[vanitashaze]

OH MY GOD YAY.