After the success of Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, many have wondered if The Legend of Korra could also be adapted, but there’s a major problem that could make that impossible. Despite The Last Airbender‘s success, there are currently no plans for a live-action Legend of Korra. However, there’s still a possibility that the show will be made once The Last Airbender seasons 2 and 3 have been completed. Even if the show does eventually get made, though, it will still have to deal with a major problem the original Legend of Korra created for a live-action adaptation.
One of the main problems that Netflix’s The Last Airbender had was the question of how to put bending into live-action. While the show did handle it well, the CGI used to create it was also a big factor in why each episode of The Last Airbender cost $15 million. A live-action Legend of Korra would have problems with more than just bending, though, as one of its main story lines would make an adaptation nearly impossible. Since it would be so difficult to adapt, it could mean The Legend of Korra won’t get the same live-action treatment as The Last Airbender.
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The Legend Of Korra’s Spirit World Storyline Makes A Live-Action Adaptation Impossible
The Legend of Korra season 2 spends much of its time in the spirit world, which wouldn’t work well in live-action
The Legend of Korra season 2 focused more on the Avatar’s duties as the connection between Avatar‘s spirit world and its physical world. Because of that, much of The Legend of Korra season 2 takes place in the spirit world, which wouldn’t translate well to live-action. With its supernatural appearance and tone and spirit animals, the spirit world would be difficult to replicate with CGI. The Last Airbender was able to avoid spending too much time in the spirit world by focusing on memories and Aang’s adventures in the real world to save his friends, but The Legend of Korra wouldn’t have the same opportunities.
Why Recreating The Legend Of Korra Season 2 In Live-Action Would Be So Difficult
Depicting Raava and Vaatu in live-action would be challenging and expensive
The central conflict that Korra had to face in season 2 was between Vaatu, the spirit of darkness and chaos, and Raava, the spirit of light and peace. Spirits in The Last Airbender, like Hei Bai, were mostly based on the designs of animals and could be adapted into live-action fairly easily through the use of CGI. Raava and Vaatu, on the other hand, were pure energy, and they were both incredibly stylized and made specifically for animation, so their appearance wouldn’t necessarily translate well to live-action.
Raava and Vaatu were extremely important to The Legend of Korra season 2’s plot, and as such, they took up quite a bit of screen time. Since they’re so prominent, Vaatu and Raava would be extremely hard to put into live-action, as they would eat up a huge portion of the show’s CGI budget by themselves, on top of how expensive it would be to depict the spirit world for so long. Bending has already made The Last Airbender‘s budget large, but a live-action Legend of Korra might require a fortune.
An Adaptation Won’t Be Able To Work Around Vaatu & Raava’s Story
Season 2 is crucial to the rest of The Legend of Korra, so avoiding it would be impossible
Because of how important Vaatu and Raava were to The Legend of Korra, there’s very little hope an adaptation would be able to work around them and limit their effect on the budget. Trying to limit how much screen time they have would cut out much of the central conflict of the season and make it feel underdeveloped. The rest of the season’s story, like Avatar Wan’s journey, would face the same problem. The Legend of Korra adaptation would have to show the entirety of season 2’s story, as there’s also no way to skip it all together.
The end of The Legend of Korra season 2 featured some massive plot points, so it would have to be included in a live-action adaptation. Season 2 was when the Avatar cycle was broken, and it was also when Korra eliminated the separation between the spirit world and the physical world. Those developments led directly into season 3 and harmonic convergence, and they shaped the rest of the series. Because of how hard season 2 would be to adapt, and how much the rest of the series depends on it, the live-action Legend of Korra might not be able to go past season 1.
Despite all of the problems it faces, a live-action Legend of Korra isn’t a complete impossibility. While it would take a massive budget to properly adapt season 2, Netflix may be willing to adequately fund it in the future. If The Last Airbender seasons 2 and 3 perform as well as the first one did, Netflix may see The Legend of Korra as a worthwhile investment, even if it means a bigger budget. Whether or not a live-action adaptation of The Legend of Korra is on the horizon remains to be seen, but if it is confirmed, something will have to be done about season 2.
The Legend of Korra
AnimationThis spinoff of Avatar: The Last Airbender follows the titular Korra, the new generation’s Avatar and reincarnation of Aang. As an Avatar, Korra can bend all four elements, and the show follows her adventure through the difficulties in a rapidly growing world.
- Cast
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Janet Varney
, P.J. Byrne
, David Faustino
, J.K. Simmons
, Jeff Bennett
, Dee Bradley Baker
, Seychelle Gabriel
, Mindy Sterling - Release Date
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April 14, 2012
- Seasons
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4
- Franchise(s)
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Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Live-Action)
ActionAdventureFantasyBased on the acclaimed animated Nickelodeon television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender is an action-adventure fantasy series developed by Albert Kim. The series follows Aang, a young man training to harness the four elements to live up to the title of Avatar – the one who will restore balance to the world.
- Cast
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Gordon Cormier
, Dallas Liu
, Kiawentiio
, Ian Ousley
, Daniel Dae Kim
, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee - Release Date
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February 22, 2024
- Seasons
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1
- Franchise(s)
-
Avatar: The Last Airbender
