The final aired version of The Legend of Korra may be a continuation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but fans my be surprised to learn that original plan was for the sequel series to simply wrap up the original. However, thanks to a supportive audience and Korra‘s early critical acclaim, the show expanded well beyond Aang’s story, creating something both familiar and entirely new.
Despite an original plan to concoct an epilogue in the form of a full-length animated feature, the executives over at Nickelodeon were more interesting in developing the The Last Airbender live-action movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan. After the film’s relative failure, creators and executives were hot on the idea of producing new content in the Avatar Universe, but a fourth season of the animated series was never in the cards, according to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the series creators. With mounting interest in revitalizing the series and exploring the world further, including Aang’s contribution to it after his tenure as Avatar ending, The Legend of Korra was born.
There are many differences between the two Avatar series, however the shared DNA between both is evident and certainly influenced the show creators’ original plans for The Legend of Korra. Here is a look at what those plans were and how they were ultimately scrapped, ultimately benefiting not only the series, but the franchise as a whole.
The Legend of Korra Was Originally Supposed To Be One Season
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Surprisingly, DiMartino and Konietzko first conceived The Legend of Korra as a mere 12-episode miniseries intended to conclude the first series. The reduced length of the show had much to do with Nickelodeon’s own hesitation in having a female character as the sequel series’ main protagonist, as per Konietzko, with NPR noting in an interview that “girls will watch shows about boys, but boys won’t watch shows about girls.” After debating internally over the viability of the spin-off and its potential success, DiMartino, Konietzko, and Studio Mir (Korra‘s animation studio) finally convinced Nickelodeon’s executives to proceed with the project.
Although the show was originally slated for a March 2011 release date, this back-and-forth led to, in part, The Legend of Korra‘s eventual April 2012 premiere. With creators opting to omit stand-alone and “filler” episodes in the first season in the hopes to produce a tighter and more succinct story, the sequel eventually proved to offer more than originally imagined. This enthusiasm resulted in the show being expanded to 26 episodes, a number soon doubled for a grand total of 52. And thankfully, too, seeing as what writers had in store for Korra’s four season long, globe-spanning adventure.
Legend of Korra Would’ve Completed Avatar’s Story
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As with all previous seasons set in the Avatar Universe, each season is categorized as a “book,” each episode making up a “chapter” within that book. Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s three “books” correspond to Aang’s journey in mastering the elements “Water,” “Earth,” and “Fire.” In The Legend of Korra‘s first book, entitled “Air,” the titular hero needs to master airbending (Aang’s primary bending style) in accordance with the Avatar Cycle. The titling of the first book in the new series points to a desire to thematically tie it to Aang’s own journey, especially since the following three Korra seasons – titled “Spirts,” “Change,” and “Balance” – abandon that tradition and point to the creators’ original intent to neatly conclude their previously aired series with the final elementally named installment.
Looking to Book 1 of The Legend of Korra, it is easy to see some behind-the-scenes positioning of certain story elements intended to tie Korra’s story to Aang’s. It is notable, for example, that much of the action in the season takes place in Republic City, a vibrant and diverse metropolitan area built by Aang and his comrades after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Aang’s family are also featured prominently throughout, primarily with his son Tenzin, who assumes the role as Korra’s airbending master. Then there is Aang himself, who – after a season of build-up – finally appears to Korra once she forms her spiritual connection to him and all of her past Avatar lives.
While Aang is absent for much of the season (and, indeed, the series), much of The Legend of Korra‘s first season cements his legacy and impact, even in death. Perhaps original plans for the series would have detailed some of the finer points regarding the end of Aang’s story. Thankfully, mere months before Korra’s television debut, canonical Avatar comics entitled The Promise, The Search, and The Rift do just that, making room for a new story set seventy years in the future.
Why It’s Good Legend of Korra Continued After Season 1
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The Legend of Korra bravely ventures into new territory, even for a series already applauded for its embrace of adult themes. The four seasons which aired between 2012 and 2014 explored a quartet of sociopolitical ideologies (Communism, Theocracy, Anarchy, and Fascism), each of which threatened the relatively peaceful world built by Aang and his contemporaries. The show also greatly expands the franchise’s mythology, explaining the previously murky mechanics surrounding the Spirit World, the evolving of bending styles, and the ancient history of the Avatar. The sequel series is also more progressive than its predecessor, initiating a same-sex relationship between heroes Korra and Asami in the series finale. Further still, The Legend of Korra updates many forms of technology and draws from the 1920’s and Steam Punk aesthetics, proving that the Avatar story can be viable beyond the bounds of the original series.
Ultimately, The Legend of Korra helped to build a new and exciting template for the Avatar series. Deciding to divert from the original series and instead jumping seventy years into the universe’s future, perhaps the series will continue exploring the future Avatar’s lives and explore the world as it expands with each generation. As with the real world, each new age comes with its own unique challenges and threats, necessitating the arrival of a new hero able to combat them. Choosing to introduce Korra as an older and more confident Avatar at the start of the sequel series (she is already a master of three of the four bending styles in the first chapter), The Legend of Korra eventually tells the story of a more fully-realized hero, as opposed to The Last Airbender’s “hero-in-training” approach. The willingness to depart from familiar territory allowed for a wider array of storytelling possibilities.
After comfortably reaching “cult classic” status with its epic finale, the future of the original series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, was full of endless promise. With the release of The Legend of Korra, perhaps avid fans of the franchise were perplexed by such a sharp right turn away from well-known, beloved characters. However, the bold decision to start fresh with the next Avatar was a smart one, especially when the creators appeared simultaneously interested in paying homage to the wider universe and mythology, effectively filling in the few gaps left from the previous series. Balancing the old with the new, The Legend of Korra gracefully manages to pay off not only her own story, but Aang’s as well. And, as with all things within the World of Avatar, balance is everything.