Fans up in arms over casting: M. Night Shyamalan is making a movie version of Nickelodeon’s animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the first casting choices were announced last week. The problem? Well, Avatar is set in an Asian-inspired world, with a multiethnic cartoon cast, and the live-action choices thus far are entirely caucasian. Naturally, fans are pissed.
(And since y’all would probably stone me if I didn’t include this, let’s not forget Avatar’s primary Star Wars connections: The Clone Wars’ Dave Filoni directed several episodes, while Mark Hamill voiced Fire Lord Ozai, the show’s ultimate antagonist.)
- It’s beginning to look a lot like ‘best of’ time. John Scalzi’s sci-fi hits and misses for 2008.
- Another day, another Bat-rumor. Rachel Weisz as Catwoman? Meow. (But wait! There’s more!) Meanwhile, check out these fanmade posters lobbying for a Ledger Oscar.
- When fanboys attack. AICN source compares The Spirit to Battlefield Earth. Ouch.
- This is the worst idea ever. Second Life: The Movie. Well… I guess it could be worse. It could be Everquest.
I’ll be honest, the white-ness of the casting choices for The Last Airbender really never hit me until I read the bruhaha (not that they don’t have a point). It was more “They got WHO to play Zuko????” Somehow, I can’t see a boyband guy pulling off dark and angry Zuko, and I don’t want him mucking up the best redemption story since Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.