Original Series Creators Depart Avatar: The Last Airbender Live-Action Series

In a blow to the hopes of franchise fans, the original creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender have opted to leave the Netflix live-action show adaptation, apparently over creative differences with the production.

In an open letter to fans, Mike DiMartino has detailed the difficult decision to leave, citing it as the “hardest professional decision I’ve ever had to make.” After both he and Bryan Konietzko were asked to executive produce and act as showrunners on the project, “things did not go as we had hoped," he writes.

Based on the posting from DiMartino, it seems that the Netflix adaptation is continuing to move forward. But he also offers a stark expression of his evaluation of where the show is headed, sharing that ”...whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make.”

News of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series first arose back in 2018. There’s no word yet on how this change in creative leadership may affect the series’ release time frame or production.