I have found many websites, (like https://moviepilot.com/hashtags/AvatarTheLastAirbender) about there being a sequel to the fantasy film Last Airbender, but I can't find any release date. Can someone help? I'm not sure if any of these sites are solid sources.
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I'm not sure what you mean by off-topic but what i'm trying to say is everyone is saying there's a sequel but i'm finding no real evidence of it, so i'm confused about if it's true or if people are just saying stuff.– Katy PerryCommented Aug 1, 2017 at 17:27
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I'm not sure why these links aren't working.– Katy PerryCommented Aug 1, 2017 at 17:29
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2 Answers
Wikipedia is usually a pretty good first place to check.
It currently says that M. Night Shyamalan’s last word on the subject was in a 2015 interview with UK newspaper The Metro, where he said an Airbender sequel wouldn’t be his next project (after 2015’s The Visit).
He’s since made Split, Glass, and Old. If an Airbender sequel depends on him (which, surprisingly, it might do?), he might have space in his schedule for one, if he's not too busy executive-producing Servant for Apple TV+.
However, as of 2021, it cites the October 2018 announcement of a live-action Netflix series as precluding any more movies for now. (The creators did quit the project in 2020, but it is apparently still in development). There's also more animated stuff under development at Nickelodeon.
Googling for "announced" and "release date" along with "Last Airbender 2" does indeed throw up a few articles that seem to assert that a sequel has been “confirmed”, but none of them feature any quotes from Shyamalan or anyone at Paramount confirming a sequel; nor do they link to any articles that do.
I’d rather not link to them, as it seems like they’re intentionally writing misleading headlines and crappy articles in an attempt to attract traffic from enthusiastic fans like yourself. But I’d suggest you ignore vcpost.com, movienewsguide.com and thebitbag.com in future, and stick to publications that report actual things that happen.
I’m not very up on movie news, but I think Variety and Slashfilm are pretty reliable papers of record. If they haven’t reported a major studio movie announcement, it hasn’t happened.
The site you linked to, moviepilot.com, does have a really good summary of statements made regarding a sequel — none of which are commitments to actually making one.
answered Aug 1, 2017 at 19:18
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1The film received a critical bashing but made over $350m against a $120m budget, well within the financial range that would usually merit a sequel.– ValorumCommented Aug 2, 2017 at 7:22
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1@Valorum: yeah, although I do wonder if studios expect more these days. Amazing Spider-Man 2 did $709m on a $200m budget, but Sony still went running to Marvel for Spidey help. Commented Aug 2, 2017 at 7:25
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2@PaulDWaite - That budget included more than $100m of marketing though, which should have all but guaranteed a $1bn+ take at the Box Office. Imagine waking up Monday morning and finding that you're $300m short of where you told your boss you'd be.– ValorumCommented Aug 2, 2017 at 7:28
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1@Valorum: Oh really? I didn’t realise Hollywood accounting included that stuff. They did seem to put up a lot of posters for Amazing 2. And it took less than its predecessor. Commented Aug 2, 2017 at 9:38
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1@PauldWaite - A lot of it's guesswork since the studios buy airtime and poster sites well in advance (often 3-5 years ahead in the case of billboards) of the movies actually being made but Spiderman 2 had vast amounts of publicity, maybe even as much as Rogue One– ValorumCommented Aug 2, 2017 at 9:47
There won't be a sequel. In addition to the film being critically panned, it also didn't do well enough financially to justify a sequel, let alone be the opening film of a series. Any faint hopes of a second or third film being made were finally dashed when Nickelodeon announced in 2018 that it was going to 'reenvision' the series as a live-action show.
We’re thrilled for the opportunity to helm this live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We can’t wait to realize Aang's world as cinematically as we always imagined it to be, and with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build upon everyone’s great work on the original animated series and go even deeper into the characters, story, action, and world-building.
Avatar: The Last Airbender creators return for live-action Netflix remake
For the record, while The Last Airbender didn't flop, neither did it do well. We now know that its budget was in the region of $150M. Add on on a marketing-spend of probably $50M (and take into account that the studio usually only gets about 50-60% of US box-office receipts), this means that its international box-office of $319M wouldn't have even covered Paramount's costs.
Having lost something around $30-50M, it's hard to see why they would want to make a second or third film, noting that while sequels usually do slightly better (at the box office) than the series opener, they also tend to make smaller profits, which means that the studio would probably stand to lose more money, even if the second film gained a marginally larger audience.
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Also the first film said, right in the title, that it was the Last one. Filmmakers don't just renege on promises like that! Commented Aug 9, 2021 at 10:05